The Breath of Lies
by Calamity in Motion
Summary: After being tricked into leading her friends to the slaughter, Mira is left with two choices; Become the plaything of the vampire who killed them, or die. As her world fills with monsters, she just might find herself becoming one.
1. The Massacre

**I wanted to write a vampire story, but I'm sick of romancey BS now that Twilight has become the big thing. **

**This story will most likely be pretty twisted, and I'll warn ya, this chapter gets hella ****violent**. I was in a... special mood.  


**Anyway, hope you enjoy it, but don't expect lovey-dovey, or even semi-sweet. While relationships might build, they will be of the twisted, love-to-hate variety.**

**If you're looking for sappy Anne Rice vampires, go read a Twilight fic. (Cause honestly the only ones I can stand in that book are James and Felix, and they're both bad guys)**

**-Calamity-**

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At first I couldn't see him. With all the rain pouring down around us, he was a vague silhouette out at the edge of the property. I knew it was him though; could feel it in my bones. My heart did a funny little patter as I dashed out into the storm, smiling wide and not caring that I would be soaked in moments.

"Isaac!" I cried, throwing out my arms as if to hug him, but the creature didn't move. My splashing footsteps slowed as I came close enough to see his face. Somber and…cold, like I'd never seen before. The vampire had been nothing but gracious and charming since the moment we met, but now, in front of the cabin, he seemed almost _angry_.

"Isaac? What wrong?" I glanced back toward the small, stone cabin my friends now, temporarily, called home. They hadn't told me why we needed to leave the city, just that we could tell no one. I shook away those thoughts as I stepped closer to the immortal. The need to touch him, to kiss him, was almost unbearable. The nights we'd been away from one another had almost been too much for me. Finally I'd had to tell him where I was, so that we could be together. If only for the night.

"Isaac, why do you look so-"

"Hush, Mira" his voice was like the deepest currents of the ocean. Dark and resonate, it pulled at me, enticed me, until my mind began to spin and only clutching his hand could ground me again. Like a switch being thrown, the life returned to his face, and a smile curled his lips. "Will you not invite me inside?"

"The others…" I bit my lower lip and glanced back at the cabin, barely visible in the rain. "They don't know you're here, I wasn't supposed to-"

His finger fell over my lips, his eyes shimmered. I could always get lost in those eyes; one a deep green, the other a blue so vivid it was nearly cobalt. Impossible, but there. His_ patchwork_ eyes, I called them.

"I have no time for this game, Mira. Take me inside." His fingers traced the line of my mouth, down my jaw, then curled around my throat. "Do not make me force you."

"I don't understand." I tried to step back, but his grip on my throat tightened. I knew he could crush my airway as if it were a tower of sand; tear my very head from my shoulders with so little effort it would bore him. But he had never threatened me before.

"I will give you to the count of 3, Mira." Isaac still sounded so calm, almost businesslike. While I began to tremble, he only gazed steadily down at me, waiting.

"Isaac, why are you doing this?"

"1.."

"Please, tell me what's wrong!"

"2.."

As I opened my mouth to cry to him, his other hand rested on my shoulder. I felt the disks in my spine pop as he stretched my head from my shoulders, my hands flew up to grab at his wrists, but it was like yanking at stone. Immovable.

"Wait!" I cried, "I'll invite you in!"

The pressure lessened, and I realized with horror that his expression had not once changed from the blank coldness it had been. He would have killed me then without so much as a thought.

"Well?" his eyes were black now, the pupil swelling to consume the iris and then the white.

"You can come inside only if you tell me what you are going to do."

This made him smile, flashing his canines, now longer and slightly curved. They were not the subtle fangs of the vampires in movies, able to sink in and pull away leaving the victim still breathing, with only strange marks to prove there was an attack. Real vampires, did not leave their prey alive. They torn them open, guzzling down the flow of live until there was nothing left. Once I had believed he was different from the others, but not now, not while he smiled so maliciously. He was a monster.

"You promise to invite me in?"

He would kill me if I refused, we both knew that, so I nodded.

"You're.._friends_..are criminals. They hunt my kind for sport and vengeance. For years our trackers searched for their nests, but they were clever enough to stay beneath our radar, moving before we even realized they had settled down. The rats would have remained hidden if not for you."

His smile was a cruel mockery of the one that had so thoroughly stolen my heart. I saw now, that it had all been a game.

"But…" I swallowed the lump in my throat, thankful that the rain disguised my tears. "What will you do to them?"

"I can not allow them to continue what they are doing, now can I?" He chuckled, then sobered, the smile melting so that I would know his words were serious. "I will kill them. Those who fight like men will be torn apart, those that hide I will find and beat to death with the remains."

Bile rose in my throat, his fingers had left my neck to caress my cheek. "And me?" I asked, voice breaking, "Will you kill me?"

Isaac offered a truly sweet smile then, pulling me close and kissing my temple as he had when stealing my heart. "Silly little girl. It would be ungrateful to kill one who has helped me so much." He pulled back, lifting my chin to stare into my eyes with his frightening black ones. "After I have dispatched the rodents, sweet Mira, you may come with me to my home. It has been decades since I last had a plaything."

At my horrified expression, he laughed, tracing my lower lip with his cold thumb. "You will grow to like it, little one, and if you don't, I will end your suffering."

"How gracious of you." The words were bitter, but he only smiled, kissing my forehead. Isaac looked up at the cabin then, his expression becoming all business.

"I would allow you to remain here, away from the sight of their deaths, but it seems you must be _inside_ the dwelling to invite me."

I barely heard him, but nodded anyway. What had I done? Why had I been so stupid? How could I have believed his lies? Isaac must have read the questions on my face, because he offered a slight smile and brushed the hair from my eyes.

"I have seduced far sharper minds then yours, child. There was nothing you could have done." He nodded toward the cabin. "Now go. Say your goodbyes while they can still hear them."

Thunder crashed above us, and purple lightning split the sky. For a moment, Isaac was illuminated, a faint glow that seemed to radiate from him. He seemed godlike and unstoppable now.

"Please, " I whispered, knowing he could still hear me, "Can you make it quick for them?"

He seemed to consider it a moment, then smiled, lips closed, and turned me toward the cabin without reply. Knowing that meant they would suffer, I forced myself to move toward the cabin. It was a miracle I made it to the door with my violent shaking.

The door opened, bringing with it a rush of warmth. Laughter tumbled out of the living room where my _family_ now lounged, nursing whiskey and hot coco. Sarah, a pretty blonde who had taken me in only last year appeared in the wooden archway that connected the living room and kitchen. A giant fogged pane of glass settled in the wall beside it so I could see the others blurred forms in the living room. Sarah smiled, as warm as ever, and went to the small refrigerator to fill her glass tumbler with ice.

"We all wondered where you'd gone. What were you doing out in the rain?"

I stared at her, eyes welling with tears. Sarah paused, setting down her glass to frown at me in concern.

"Mira? What's wrong?"

Toby, a tall man in his late twenties came into the kitchen then. He glanced between us, then turned to me with a frown of his own. "Is everything ok in here, girls?"

I lost it then, falling back against the wall beside the open door and drew a shaky breath. "I'm sorry." I sobbed, wrapping my arms around myself as if they could protect me. "I didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Toby asked moving toward me as he glanced over at Sarah. The laughter in the living room had stopped, and I knew that soon the others would join us. The thought made me feel sick all over again, and I squeezed my eyes closed. The words tumbled from my tongue on a whisper, but he heard it, wherever he'd been waiting. "_Come in, Isaac_."

"Mira, what are you…" but Toby trailed off and the room became so deadly quiet I _had_ to open my eyes again.

I felt it when he'd stepped over the threshold, like the cold wind of death had blown over our home. All the warmth of the place seemed to drain away as the hunters realized what was happening. What I had just done to them.

"_Oh god_." Sarah breathed, backing into the fridge. Her hand swept back as if to grasp a weapon that wasn't there and her eyes grew glassy, like mine. Toby didn't move, his eyes were wide and glued to the monster I had just invited into our home. His fists opened and closed at his sides a few times, the sweat already beading on his forehead.

"What have you done, Mira?" He asked softly, but Isaac was kind enough to answer for me.

The vampire stroked my cheek with the backs of his knuckles and smiled. "This will be over shortly, little one. Close your eyes if you must."

He knew I wouldn't be able to. Knew I wouldn't be unable to look away as he slaughtered my family. It probably even pleased him. Toby, however finally looked at me, and his expression was utter horror and betrayal.

"Why?" the question was spoken shakily, as Sarah gazed between us both. I wanted to answer, wanted to make them believe it had all been a mistake, but Isaac never gave me the chance.

He moved almost too quickly to follow, going strait for the leader. Sarah got the chance to scream, but Toby's throat was already being ripped open. His hands flew up to cover the gaping hole, as if it would stop the blood that gushed out like a pressurized hose. By the time he hit his knees with a gurgled cry, Sarah was being lifted into the air by her throat, cutting off her next scream before she could make it. Isaac flicked his wrist, and her head snapped to the side, her neck broken.

The body was thrown through the giant window as if it weighed nothing. As glass exploded into the living room, the others had already begun to scream. I could see them all from my place by the door, but they were too occupied to notice me. Sarah's body hit the ground hard and rolled across the floor as Isaac moved to the next hunter. Michael was yelling at the others to run when the monster grabbed his shirtfront and jerked him close. He went like Toby. Isaac even laughed as he spit the chunk of flesh onto the hardwood, drinking in the heavy flow of blood as if it were an open tap of wine.

_4 to go.  
_

Sam and Alice were the first to get to the weapons. The siblings aimed guns at the vampire and fired as fast as they were able. The first two bullets hit their mark, burying themselves in Isaac's back, but he spun with Michael still in hand and the corpse took the rest of the barrage as he moved toward them. Sam, tried to shield his sister, but was knocked off his feet by his best friend's body.

Alice tripped as she back-peddled away from the monster, firing off the last three bullets right into his chest. He grunted, but didn't slow, batting the gun from her hands so hard I heard the bone snap in her forearm. She screamed, kicked at him, but Isaac grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. By then Sam had gotten back to his feet. He realized what was happening right as Isaac punched his fist into the girl's gut.

"**_No!_**" Sam screamed, and launched himself at the monster. Isaac caught his arm, dropping the girl while she still twitched and yanked him in close. Everett appeared from the back hallway in time to fire off his crossbow, screaming that Adrian (the last hunter) get out while he could. The arrow buried itself in Isaac's arm and the monster growled like an animal, dropping Sam to grab the bolt. Moving frantically, Everett tried to fit the next bolt into the crossbow, but Isaac was already across the room.

He grabbed Everett's wrist and placed his free hand against the curve of his throat. Recognition flashed through the hunter's eyes a second before the vampire began to pull. I screamed then, couldn't help myself, as he ripped the limb from my friend's body like he was made of rags. The sound it made, wet and nauseatingly real, would stay with me for the rest of my life.

Everett screamed in agony, falling to his knees as the last bit of flesh was torn away. Isaac reared back the arm, holding it at the wrist and swung it back, striking him across the side of the head hard enough to send him crashing to the floor. He hit him again against his ribs, which I heard crack from the kitchen. I had to turn away then. The world was spinning and I was going to be sick.

"**You stupid bitch!**"

By then time I recognized Adrian's voice, he had already tackled me to the floor with his hand's around my neck. I tried to cry out, but he bashed my head down against the hardwood. The world seemed to flash white until he repeated the action with a curse, eyes wild. He knew they were all dead, knew that no one would survive this, and had decided to take me out before he died.

"**Look what you've done!**" he bellowed, pulling away one hand to rear back and slug me with it, right across the jaw. I yelped, tasting blood, then cried out as I was suddenly being pulled across the floor so fast I lost my sense of direction. Adrian screamed and released my throat only to fly off somewhere. I coughed, pushing myself up then stiffened when I found myself in the middle of the massacre.

Sarah lay amidst a scattering of glass shards, her neck bulging at an odd angle, eyes open and starring strait at me. Sobbing in terror, I crab walked backwards, ignoring the pain of glass in my palms, then shrieked as I hit another body. Alice, still conscious, coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her good arm was wrapped tightly around her stomach, but didn't stop the spill of intestines and blood onto the dirty floor. Everett lay in a broken mess near the hall, his face and chest beaten beyond recognition with his own arm. Adrian had stopped screaming, but it was because he'd been slit from groin to chin, his insides making a trail to the wide-eyed corpse which had been flung across the room. I heard Isaac laugh and spun to find him standing not 4 feet from me, with his fist in Sam's hair.

For a moment, the world froze, and the last remaining hunter lifted his eyes to mine. The hatred I saw there was too intense to bare, but I couldn't force myself to look away. Isaac glanced at his wounded arm with a slight frown before throwing Sam to the floor and placing his boot in the center of his back to keep him there. No matter how he thrashed, the hunter could not get away, and the vampire took his time pulling the bolt from his arm. He fingered the hole in his the sleeve of his blood stained dress shirt then glanced down at Sam and sighed.

Before either of us knew what was happening, the monster knelt down and stabbed the arrow strait through Sam's bicep and into the floor, pinning him. Sam's cry of pain rivaled my own startled shriek. Not wanting to draw attention, I slapped both hands over my mouth. Isaac, however, glanced up despite my efforts, arching a brow.

"I see your attacker didn't get very far." He mused stepping off of the writhing Sam to approach me. Even knowing it was pointless, I tried to scuttle away, but the monster caught my arm and dragged me to my feet, catching me when I slipped in the pooling blood on the floor.

"You can thank me any time for helping you." As he spoke, he swept the hair from my eyes, sticky with blood, and inspected me. "No other damage that I can see." he murmured.

My eyes remained wide and teary as he finished his inspection and pulled me toward Sam. The hunter had stopped struggling until he saw us, then he began thrashing about like a beached fish. Blood spurted from the wound on his bicep each time he pulled at it, but he didn't seem to notice. Isaac stopped me right in front of him and sighed.

"We're almost done here, little one. Hang in there."

Sam groaned when Isaac planted his foot on his back again and pushed down. I heard a sickening crack, followed by a wet cough, and blood exploded from his mouth, splattering the floor around his face. I could only stare down at him, frozen and petrified. Sam let slip a strange sound of pain, like a whimper and a growl all in one, and raised his eyes to me.

"You think…you're safe?" He spoke through pants, eyes blazing furiously through his agony. Isaac, gazed down at him cooly and pressed his foot down a bit more. Another crack as more ribs splintered and punctured his organs. He cried out, then grit his teeth, spitting out the blood toward my feet. "He's…going to…kill you when he…" more breaking as Isaac ground his heel down, a tiny smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "You'll die…just like…us." He drew a wet, ragged breath, coughing it back up with blood, then, to my horror, forced a grim smile. His teeth were stained with red, and it bubbled at the corners of his mouth as he continued to hemorrhage; but still he smiled up at me, narrowing his eyes.

"We'll…be waiting…for you."

Isaac pushed down then until the crack was so loud it had to be Sam's sternum. He gasped wetly for a moment or two, then finally, went limp. It was about then that the ringing started in my ears, loud enough to drown out whatever it was Isaac was saying. The world tilted sideways, and I was surprised the find the ground rushing up to meet me. I couldn't even cry anymore, couldn't move. Isaac nudged me with the toe of his boot, then sighed heavily, looking irritated. Muttering to himself, he bent over and scooped me up into one arm, cradling me against his chest like a doll. My head rolled against his shoulder, my neck limp and useless as the rest of me.

The world had dimmed at the edges of my vision, as if I might loose consciousness. I prayed I did, because the release that would bring would be blissful. Everything around me was crashing down, the world crumbling in on itself and screaming as it went. The sound was deafening.

"Come now, sweet Mira. Let's get you to your new home, shall we?"


	2. Prison

I don't remember how we got to his home. Whether that was his doing or the fact that I was still in shock, I'm not sure. I vaguely recall thinking that his apartment was nice, though far too normal for something like him. Of course, by apartment, I mean _huge fucking palace-home _but that's neither here nor there.

Isaac led me straight through the place, down a hallway and into a large marble bathroom. By then he had to practically carry me, because my legs had started to shake so badly I couldn't stay up on my own. The vampire leaned me against one of the counters and turned to a shower fit for a party. I've never really found the reason for making them so large. I certainly wasn't planning any mixers in one of the things.

"Take off your clothes." Despite how soft the command was, it still made me stiffen and wrap my arms around myself. Though it wouldn't stop him. If he could rip off a human arm, _fabric_ would stand no chance.

My stomach rolled at the thought of Everett and I groaned. Isaac, arching an irritated brow, took hold of my upper arms and walked me toward the shower anyway.

"If you want to get them wet, then do it. Makes no difference to me."

The moment the water hit me, I closed my eyes. Out in the rain, I'd run to him like the idiot I was. Toby had told me the vampires were nothing but sociopathic monsters. They enjoyed the killing sometimes more than the actual meal, but I'd ignored it. I'd attested his hatred for them to the loss of his fiancé. I'd told myself he was just bitter and blinded by fury and loss, but it seemed I was the blind one here. God, I was so stupid.

My eyes fell to the water rolling off my skin. It was staining the porcelain at my feet red, but I'm sure a vampire would have the knowhow to clean away such things. Again my stomach threatened to climb up out of my throat.

Isaac, leaving the fogged glass door open, reached in to brush the sticky hair from my face. His fingers came away crimson, and when he caught me starring at them, he put his forefinger between his lips with a smile.

"Well, _now_ I'm starving." He chuckled, then harder when I drew away from him, covering my throat. "Oh, calm down, Mira. I won't eat you." Then he tilted his head, "Maybe just a taste."

"_Don't touch me_."

Again the monster laughed, shaking his head. "My, aren't we skittish." He turned toward the towel rack beside the shower stall where a thick grey robe hung over the bar. "Change into this when you've finished. We can worry about proper clothing tomorrow."

I nodded, only to get him to leave. Once the bathroom door had shut, my shoulders sagged and I took a deep shaky breath, releasing it with a sob. Thankfully the water hid my tears, if he had returned, but it could not cover the crying. Eventually, I fell to my knees, pressing my forehead into the cool porcelain.

I was just as much of a monster as he was. If I'd just closed the door, or told the others what was happening. Maybe…but no. Deep down, I knew that Isaac could have _made_ me invite him. He could slip into human minds, pulling thoughts and emotions to the surface you'd never even known you had. If it hadn't been me, he would have glamoured one of the others, then killed me for my refusal. Knowing this didn't salve my guilt however. I was still his accomplice. Still a _traitor_.

I remained in the shower as long as I could, until the water had returned to clear, leaving only the pinkish stain against the white. My sobbing had faded to the occasional hiccup as I turned off the water and stepped out. Wary of the closed bathroom door, I peeling the ruined clothes from my body and pulled on the robe, not bothering to ring out my hair. It didn't really matter.

"Finally." Isaac sighed throwing open the door as if he'd been waiting outside. Most likely he had just heard the water and flashed across the apartment. The vampire quickly wrapped his arm around my waist and walked me from the bathroom. My fingers instinctively went to the front of the robe, pulling it closed. If he noticed, he said nothing.

The living room was warm and furnished tastefully. Dark leather couches and an armchair. There was a flat screen plasma TV mounted above the stone fireplace, already crackling away. When had apartments started having fireplaces? Isaac sat me down on the biggest couch and sank down next to me. He propped his black boots onto the coffee table, crossing them at the ankles and stretched his arms across the back of the couch. Completely at home, the nights earlier activities apparently forgotten. The idea that he could dismiss such things so easily only made me nervous. How many times had he done this?

"So." He said cheerfully, lifting a remote. "Any preferences?"

"We're going to watch TV?" I asked harshly, glaring at his dark jeans. He had long legs, framed appealingly by the denim. His build was lean but muscular. Everything about the monster from his stylishly cut raven black hair to his long, ringed fingers was impressive. He was the perfect predator, attractive and deadly.

I wanted to set him on fire.

"Unless you have any _other_ suggestions?" The comment wasn't sexual, but I took it as such, sliding down the couch away from him. For a moment, his eyes flashed with hostility, but the emotion vanished almost before I could catch it.

"Your friends killed countless numbers of my kind and others for their crimes against humanity. I was doing the same."

"You slaughtered them!" I cried. How could he even _compare_ the two? "And they defended all the helpless people they could find so that you and _your_ friends couldn't make them into diner and a show."

"I do not expect you to understand." He sighed flipping to TV onto some late night talk show. "It's done. There's no use arguing about this now."

Son of a bitch. If I'd had a spine, I might have tried to claw his beautiful eyes from his face. But even now, I did not want to die. Feeling pathetic, I turned my gaze to the television, not seeing a thing.

What would I do now, I wondered? There was no question that I could stay here as he'd offered. Become a lifeless bloodbag for the bastard. I'd met a few Shadows in my time. The poor individuals who pledged themselves to the first vampire they could find and allowed them to fed whenever they pleased. These people almost always died quickly. Lasting weeks, at the most. I could not become that. Not to him. Not to _any_ vampire.

For a while we sat in silence. Content to ignore one another, until Isaac grew bored and turned to me. I could feel his gaze like a steady burn against my skull. At first, I tried to ignore it, but then a pain, like the beginnings of a migraine began to pound in my head, and I was forced to turn to him.

"What?" I bit the word out, making him smirk. He was closer now, though I hadn't seen or felt him move.

"Just curious." He replied, searching my face for…something. He must not have found it because he sighed. "I wonder how long you will be able to hold on to this hostility."

"Hold your breath, I'll let you know."

"Well, if I needed to breathe…" he let the comment trail off then lifted his hand to curl a strand of my hair around his finger. I glared at him, teeth clenched, wishing more than anything that I had the power to do to him what he'd done to my friends.

"There's nothing you could ever do to me that would cause any reaction but loathing."

"Not a _great_ quality in a Shadow." He shrugged.

"I am **not** your Shadow, Isaac."

His lips curled into a wicked smile then, and he pulled tight the lock of hair until I hissed in pain.

"We'll see."

Then, without warning, I was moving. He pulled me down the couch until I lay back against the arm, pinning me there with his body. I drew a breath to scream, but he released my hair to cover my mouth. His lips brushed my ear, grazing it with his teeth. To my disgust, the act shot chills down my spine. I kicked at him, tried to shove him back, but the creature was too strong. He nudged my head to the side and continued his nibbling down the column of my throat.

"No!" I cried, but it was muffled beneath his palm. He chuckled against my skin, the cool air rose goosebumps down my arms. He might not _need_ to breathe, but perhaps it was habit from his human life, however long ago _that_ was. Whatever the case, I didn't like him so close to my veins. Memories of him tearing out Michael's throat and spitting it to the floor flashed through my mind, making me frantic. I _felt_ it when his fangs slid down from their sheaths to graze my neck. He was playing with me. Had to be. He'd promised not to kill me, right?

But he'd also said he loved me once. His word was worth nothing.

I screamed beneath his cold palm when his fangs pricked my skin. His free hand was curled around my jaw, keeping my head turned. I would bruise with the strength of his hold, but that was the least of my problems. Then, just as fast as it had begun, he pulled away.

I was crying again, as I scrambled back up and pressed back into the arm of the couch. My hand clamped down over my throat, my knees drew up to my chest. The vampire smiled, licking his lips, not bothering to put away his demon face.

"Why did you do that?" I demanded, hating that I sounded like a frightened child. He shrugged, straitening his black shirt.

"To see how you would react." He stood with a smile and looked me over. "It wasn't disappointing."

"You're sick." I spat, but he wasn't fazed.

"Your room is the second door to your left down the hall. There should be some sort of sleeping apparel in the closet. I promise not to disturb you while you sleep."

I might have retorted, but something caught my attention and I frowned. "You told me you didn't have anything for me to wear."

"Yes, well, that was when I planned on seeing you naked. I've decided to wait a bit longer."

"_Excuse_ me?"

He grinned, winking. "Good night, sweet Mira. We will talk more when the sun sets."

My mouth hung open a moment, but I couldn't think of a strong enough statement of how much that was NOT going to happen. Deluded bastard. He wasn't going to touch me! I jumped to my feet and hurried around the couch, happy to put it between us as I dashed from the room and into the hall. From there I ran to the room he'd specified and slammed the door, cursing when I found no lock, though it shouldn't have surprised me.

I didn't bother checking the closet, just sat against the headboard hugging my knees until the night finally settled on me. Suddenly, I couldn't keep my eyes open, and slid down onto the thick crème comforter.

That night, I dreamt that the others found me, and did not refuse the tortures they demanded for my betrayal. I knew in my heart, that I deserved them.


	3. Senses

**I decided to cut this chapter in half…well because I'm being mean and string it on a bit more, but I also didn't like 4000 words in one chapter.**

**So!**

**Enjoy this, and leave me some feedback. It helps me write when I know what people are liking and not liking in my stories.**

**Thanx**

**-Calamity-**

"Open your eyes, Mira."

I woke up with a soft gasp; the last remnants of my nightmares clutching tight to my mind. For a short moment, I could still see the others gathered around me. Some holding their mangled bodies together, bloody and furious. They promised me that Hell was waiting, that they knew its horrors and would meet me on the other side to teach me their suffering.

My gaze went to the black haired vampire at the end of the bed, watching me as he laid some kind of garment bag across the comforter. Even if it had been a dream, I knew they must be speaking the truth. Each hunter had gladly ended the life of Shadows and shot a begging wolf victim, just in case. They had openly accepted their evils, but deemed them necessary. As Michael had once told me; the public was unable to do the hard things for themselves, the Hunters took such burdens away so that they could live happy, ignorant lives.

Isaac took my wrist and pulled me upright and halfway off the bed, despite my protests and struggle. He arched a brow and stared at me a long, frightening moment before speaking.

"You've been through a trauma, little one; I am not so heartless that I do not understand. But now is the time to put such horrors behind you. We have much to do tonight, and you still are not presentable."

"Don't you mean today? How long was I sleeping." I slid to the floor on my toes and moved back a step from him, rubbing my wrist. The vampire ignored it, instead unzipping the garment bag and laying out a long, black satin dress. My frown deepened before I glared at him.

"What do you mean _presentable_?" I demanded suspiciously, "For what?"

"**Who**." Isaac corrected with a smile then his hand whipped out and he ripped the robe away from my shoulders. Instinctively my arms went around my breasts to cover them and I turned away. After a thought, I grabbed the comforter and pulled it across my waist. Isaac rolled his eyes and went back to the dress.

"Forget your modesty, Mira. We don't have the time." He pulled a tiny hidden zipper down the side of the gown and motioned for me to step forward. "You can cooperate, or I can force this thing onto you. Choose quickly."

Scowling, I lifted one leg to step into the dress, still gripping the comforter. He sighed in irritation, but let me shimmy into the silky material. Once he pulled it up my thighs, I released the cover and hurriedly slipped my arms into the shoulders. Isaac moved around me to zip the thing up and adjust it to his liking.

The front dipped to display the tops of my breasts and opened to my lower back. Tossing my hair over one shoulder, he clipped a tiny silver chain around the back of my neck and skimmed his fingers down the links, brushing my spine and leaving chills in his wake. I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until he stepped back around and I released it.

"Your hair should be combed; it will be up when you meet Colette."

"Whoa!" I held up my hands, "Who is Colette? Why am I meeting her?" What, was I a prize dog now? Was he going to walk me around town and show me off like his little trophy? Fuck all kinds of _that_. I wasn't his new toy, and I wouldn't be treated like a thing. My mouth opened to tell him exactly that, but he placed a finger over my lips and shook his head with a chuckle.

"This is not up for discussion, Mira. As my elder and creator, she has requested your presence."

"And you can't just tell her no?" Even as I said this, a morbid curiosity tickled me. The vampire who had sired Isaac was close enough to _visit_. And she was old, more so then him. One did not often come across such interesting creatures. She would be powerful, but from what I'd heard, lacking in _humanity_.

Isaac smiled. "It would be _unwise_ to refuse such an invitation. I have no desire to insult her."

Which probably meant "Invitation" stood for "Command". She was Isaac's superior and could not be ignored. It made me wonder.

"Does she meet all of your…"it was hard to make myself use the word, "Shadows?"

He looked at me a moment, eyes shining as his grin widened. "Never before you."

"Wonderful." I sighed, frowning anxiously at the floor. Then there was something about me she didn't like or found curious. I hoped for the latter.

**xXx**

When we'd gotten into his car, a sleek black sports thing, (I had no eye for vehicles) he informed me that I'd slept away the night and all of the day. It was around 7:30 when he'd woken me and already the sun had disappeared. As we drove, I shifted uncomfortably in my dress. It clung to me invasively, draping down my legs. He'd put me in heels, tall and uncomfortable and twisted my hair, piling it above my neck. This had not been without my comments on his ability to style so fabulously. He'd ignored my stabs at his sexuality and hurried me out the door.

My arm shot out to brace myself when he took a sharp turn into the on ramp of the highway. When I turned to glare at him, however, I found the rearview mirror tilted right at my exposed chest and instead I grit my teeth.

"I thought vampires were supposed to be suave and gentlemanly."

"They are when they're trying to get laid." He laughed, "I just noticed how much I liked that dress. It didn't look half as good on the mannequin…or the cashier who modeled it for me."

My eyes rolled with my heavy sigh. "See, that was _almost_ a compliment. Fix the fuckin' mirror. How are you supposed to keep track of the car behind us?"

His eyes remained on me but his answer startled me into silence. "I don't need the mirror, I can hear the driver breathing."

It took a moment for that thought to fully process along with the implications of the statement. He could hear into another man's car, behind us, on the fucking highway?! That was…impossible.

"There's no way." My voice was breathy so I cleared my throat. "We're on the fucking highway, surrounded by trucks and other cars. If you're hearing was that sensitive, wouldn't it be too much for you?"

His eyes drifted back to the road and he cut between cars, playing leapfrog to the front. "One learns to focus and control it."

My fingers curled into the cushion of my leather seat as I searched the floorboard as if it held the answers. "What else can you hear?" The question sort of popped out before I could think it through. Isaac smirked signaling to the exit lane.

"I heard your heartbeat accelerate when I told you."

"Oh?" I swallowed and tried not to look at his face in case I met his eyes. Cobalt and emerald and too intense to handle. Like gazing strait at the sun.

"Do I frighten you, Mira?" He chuckled, glancing over at me. "That's cute."

The patronizing quality of his tone turned fear into anger…most of it…and I clenched a fist.

"Don't get excited."

He grinned, looking back at the mirror and my breasts. "That might be rough if you'll be wearing that dress."

I groaned and hit the headrest. "Just get us there, you prick."

"Ooho." He fixed the mirror as we pulled onto a wooded back road just out of town. "Best behave when we get there, or I'll have to do something very rude."

"Yeah, ok." I stopped paying attention to him after that and focused on the road.

Now we were pulling up to the iron gates of a large manor, and I begun shaking.

"Someone's pushing the stereotypes." I murmured, to cover my fear. Who would be waiting for me in there? If this old vampire, Isaac's fucking _maker_, **did** disapprove of me, would it mean they would kill me on the spot? There was no reason to believe that Isaac would stop them. I was a temporary amusement, the spoils of war, and nothing else. If his maker demanded it, he might even kill me himself. I'd heard that vampires sometimes amused themselves by killing their playthings in front of an audience of their Seethe. My fear graduated to trembling as we stepped out of the car and approached the front door.

Isaac's hand went to the center of my back, guiding me along beside him. My fingers shook at my sides until I began fidgeting with them.

"Will there be others in there?" I asked as we waited on the large front porch. My nerves got me talking even though I knew I shouldn't. Letting him know I was afraid was like showing weakness to a pack of wolves. They'd eat you alive, because fear meant _prey_. Isaac looked me over with a grin and nodded, gauging my expression, so I tried to act like my normal obnoxious self. "Is that why you're showing off my neck-cleavage?"

He laughed. "Your _what_?" But the door opened suddenly and we were greeted by a tall black woman in a business suit. For a moment I thought she might have been some sort of movie star or an heiress because she was absolutely, jaw-dropping gorgeous. She had clear, green almond shaped eyes which spakled when she looked at Isaac. Her hair was long and dark brown, styled to flow down her back beneath complicated braids. Her legs were long and shapely, making me glad that _my_ dress was draped at the bottom. She smiled at Isaac warmly, completely ignoring me and stepped out to embrace him.

"We've missed you, Isaac." Her voice was a low, sensuous purr and she kissed him on the cheek, lingering long enough to let me know they were perhaps more than friends. Or at least she'd like to be. Isaac, smiling back devilishly, smoothed the front of his own suit. Black on black, and tailored to his slender build. Everyone was in their best dress tonight it seemed. Did vampires usually do this? Was there some kind of special occasion?

"Always a pleasure, Sanura."

"How long will you stay with us _this_ time?" She leaned against the door frame, boldly looking him over and tracing the line of her collar with sharp, dark blue nails. I looked between the two, feeling like an intruder. If I could, I might have slunk off and away. Leave the vampires to their reunion, but Isaac was strait to business with her.

"Colette has asked that I bring Mira to her. I will only stay as long as courtesy demands."

Sanura pouted, standing strait. "Pity."

As she stepped aside to let us through, her clear green eyes snapped finally to me and her kindness leached away. She looked at me like I was a bug she'd be more then happy to squash. Something told me, that I should stick close to Isaac inside, or things might end badly.

"She's in the library." The vampire nodded fiannly over her shoulder. Isaac nodded mutely, and took my hand, lacing our fingers. I stared hard at our hands, threaded like lovers and wanted to jerk away, but he was already pulling me across the huge entrance hall to a dark oak door between the set of wrap around stairs.

"What kind of a name is Sanura?" I whispers, leaning in close to him. I jumped when the woman answered me.

"Egyptian." She said coolly, "It means _kitten_." At that she gave tight smile, revealing canines slightly longer than they should have been. I chose that moment to look back ahead of us and follow Isaac as he pushed open the large door and pulled on a smile.

_Here we go._


	4. The First Taste

"You will not say a word." Isaac murmured as the doors opened and a pair of dark-suited men looked us over. I almost wanted to laugh at the black shades and earpieces. At the same time, they reeked power, and I knew they were the real deal. So I kept my mouth shut like I was told.

Isaac nodded at one of the guards and the man grunted. The other closed the doors behind us as his partner moved deeper into the large house. Isaac followed, pulling me along.

Inside, everything seemed so bright. The floor was polished marble, like that of a ballroom, but as we moved closer to the parlor doors at the end of the hall, I could see the edges of wall-to-wall bookshelves beyond. I don't think I'd ever seen so many old books in my life. I love to read, and any other time this place could have held me fascinated for hours, but my eyes were now locked on the young woman sitting at a plush armchair near a large stone fireplace.

Her smile was bright when she spotted Isaac and she clapped once. He nodded back. The guard in front of us bowed to the girl, turned on his heel and walked out.

"Colette." Isaac released my hand and strode forward. He seemed to glide across the floor rather than walk it. I was still too confused. _This_ was Colette? The powerful vampire who had Isaac at her feet with the snap of her fingers. It couldn't be, this was just a girl!

At most, she was in her late teens, but adolescence was still shining in her. She had long wheat-blond hair, and eyes the color of forget-me-not's. Isaac knelt in front of her chair to kiss the pale, slender hand she presented, then remained on his knee. The girl gave another brilliant white smile and titled her head at him.

"My dearest Isaac." Her voice was soft and youthful. "You've come home to me."

"You requested my presence, I had no other choice."

At that she gave a tight smile and sat back in her chair, legs crossed at the knee. "Then we must have business together."

Was she serious? Was this some sort of vampire joke? I was lost. The door opened suddenly at my back and I jumped forward, startled. The young man who walked in was tall and foreign. His dark brown eyes skipped over everything in the room to find Colette and did not leave her after. He offered a gorgeous smile hanging by my side and watched the old vampire.

"Oh, Philippe." The man beside me jerked into excited motion and hurried to her side. Colette turned to Isaac who had taken a seat at the couch across from her as the man, I was beginning to suspect her _Shadow_, knelt at her side like a dog. "He's the cutest thing, isn't he?" She asked, stroking Philippe's jaw with her long fingernails.

Isaac chuckled. "I don't know if I'm the one to judge that, my lady."

Colette rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Isaac, There's no need for posturing." Then she paused. Philippe had begun to kiss her palm, completely absorbed in his task. "That reminds me, where _is_ your human?"

I went still by the door, watching them warily. I'd started thanking Isaac for leaving here, but now it seemed I had to join them. Isaac turned, starring me strait in the eye.

"Come, Mira."

I'm not really sure what I had expected of Colette. A cruel faced regal woman who scowled at us the moment we entered the staggeringly large library. Perhaps a frail looking old woman, with power in her eyes. It was not, by any means, the young blond creature perched on the overstuffed armchair near the fire. She was small, thin, and beautiful, but far too young to be an Elder.

"Appearances are often misleading." Her voice was that of a child, soft and light and it startled me that she read my expression so easily. Her cornflower blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me, then turned to Isaac. Apparently I had already lost her interest as I sat at Isaac's side. The pale, crème dress she wore swayed just below her knees as she stood and smiled at her _childe_. "My sweet Isaac, look how handsome you've become."

My captor flashed his wicked grin and took my hand, lacing our fingers. "And I wasn't before?"

Colette waved her hand dismissively. "I did not care for that grungy, degenerate look you favored. I had hoped you would outgrow it."

"That was in the _Eighties_, Colette." He chuckled, obviously having been through this argument before. It was like a mother and her son, which made me uncomfortable. This was just _strange_. And so far, everyone seemed so normal and kind…except Sanura, but she seemed like a bitch anyway. Where were the blood thirsty monsters _now_?

The library was thankfully void of any other vampire at the moment, which gave me little comfort, but still helped.

"Colette, I would like to officially introduce Mira, my new plaything." Isaac smiled, gesturing toward me. I bulked at the title, but bit back my anger. Colette didn't seem like the patient type, despite her apparent youth. She turned her cold blue eyes one me and took in everything. I felt like I was standing naked in a spotlight onstage. Her gaze was so calculating, and _disinterested_. To her, I was nothing special, and she moved on quickly,, again without comment. Simply ignoring me.I have to admit, it was more than a bit insulting.

"You're assignment was successful, I assume." Colette sat back in her throne-like chair and crossed her legs at the knees. Now, she seemed mature beyond her years, it simply radiated from her. I could see the Elder in her now, like she had gained 20 years just by changing positions.

Phillipe hurried from her side and out of my saight for a moment, returning with a glass of wine (red, of course) and handed it over wordlessly. She motioned him back to the door and inspected the glass not acknowledging him further, then took a sip, watching Isaac.

"The hunters will no longer be a nuisance." He nodded, squeezing my hand lightly. My jaw clenched and I starred at the hardwood floor. He was a bastard.

"I'm told you made quite the mess with them." I could hear the smile in Colette's voice and closed my eyes. Of course _she_ would find their _massacre_ amusing. "The cleanup was a real chore for my boys."

Isaac's thumb stroked the back of my hand idly as he chuckled. "Perhaps I was a _bit _overzealous. They're just as dead though."

"And yet there is the girl."

My attention snapped back to Colette as she stared at Isaac coolly. The humor was gone from her expression and with it the warmth of the room.

"The _girl_ is how I found them." Isaac insisted politely. "She invited me inside to finish the job of her own free will. She was_ never_ a hunter."

The old vampire didn't look convinced. She swirled the wine in her glass, watching him over the rim.

"Not a Hunter yet she traveled with them?"

So here it was. The reason she had wanted to meet me. She thought I was another vampire killer and a danger to her Seethe. Isaac had lost his smile now too. He did not look away from his maker's eyes. Feeling very much in danger, I rushed to my own defense.

"They took me in when my family was killed."

Colette glanced my way, her expression still cold. Isaac tightened his grip on my hand in warning, shooting me a glare. I sucked in a breath as my bones rolled together painfully. Apparently I was not to speak. He hurriedly finished for me as if to divert her attention.

"An act of pity when they failed to protect her family."

Colette skimmed her long, slender finger around the rim of her glass and stared at me a moment before speaking. "And the creature responsible? What was it you needed protecting from?" She was trying to sess out whether or not I had reason to hate vampires.

I gulped, still suffering Isaac's painful grip. "A werewolf."

At that the vampire made a distasteful sneer. "Filthy beasts."

"I agree." Again Isaac tightened his grip, popping the bones in my hand. I whimpered, angrily trying to pull away, but he refused to let go. Colette looked at us a moment before setting her wine flute on the glass table between us. Her Shadow quickly removed it and disappeared again.

"So, girl, you betrayed your saviors to become a monster's plaything."

My mouth fell open in protest, but Isaac squeezed to stop my retort. My fingers were starting to tingle.

"You plan to keep this traitor?"

Isaac nodded, "For now."

Colette sighed, "I assume I can not change your mind, then."

"You can not," he said slowly. The old vampire nodded once then looked to me.

"Normally I would not spare the life of a human who aligns herself with hunters." Here, Colette looked me right in the eyes and I felt the power in her pressing on me like a wet blanket. I felt as if too much of her stare could whither me like a dead flower. "Being that it is my Isaac who claims you, however, I will allow this folly."

She glanced down at our laced hands with a slight smirk, making me wonder the cost of her mercy.

"Thank your master, child. He has just spared your life." She giggled softly, the sound delicate and eerie.

For a long moment, I didn't know what to do. Did she mean for me to say the words? Embrace him? _What_? Isaac answered that question for me.

His free hand turned my cheek and he looked down at my lips, then to my face. The message was clear. I was to kiss him. Simple. I however would rather drink water from an electrical socket.

I didn't move to comply, even frowned. Somehow, she must have guessed at my reluctance and was toying with me. I leaned away, but Isaac was in no mood for my games. His grip on my hand tightened until it crunched and white hot pain shot up my arm. My scream was muffled by his lips.

"Your plaything seems reluctant to please you, sweet boy. Is she worth this trouble?" Colette's smile was cruel now, as she watched us and Isaac growled softly.

This time, I felt the warm ooze of blood seeping between our fingers when he squeezed them. He'd broken my hand! The bastard was _crushing_ it!! My eyes filled with tears and I let out a soft cry, but parted my lips for him. His tongue brushed mine and Colette laughed.

"She will be difficult to break. Are you sure you're up to it?"

Isaac pulled back to smile wickedly. "I like a good challenge."

Again Colette laughed, then stood. "There are days when you remind me so much of Daniel. He never took the easy ones either."

"And look where it got him." Isaac snapped suddenly angry. Colette's smile turned wistful and sad as she turned to gaze across the library. "His crazy little bitch fed him glass and tried to burn him alive."

"Yes, well…She is gone now, made to ash."

It was silent a long time before Colette turned her attention back to us and gave a cruel smile.

"So, I am curious," she nodded toward me, "Have you tasted her yet?"

I was very still, eyes wide. This seemed to amuse her while Isaac dropped my ruined hand. Hissing away the pain, I drew it close and cradled it to my stomach.

"There has been no time, unfortunately." He sighed.

"There is time now." Colette said this with her gaze directly on me, waiting for my reaction. She knew it scared me. Isaac chuckled. "By all means." The bitch gestured toward us to begin, her smile wicked. "I _insist_."

Those were the magic words.

"Give me your hand, Mira." Isaac turned on the couch to face me and held out his fingers. I laughed harshly and shook my head.

"You've done enough damage."

He snatched up my wrist so fast I didn't see him move and jerked it closer. My fingers were black and red, setting at awkward angles. Actually looking at the horrible sight made my stomach roll. The vampire gave it no mind and pulled up the sleeve of his free hand with his teeth, then bit into his wrist, gashing it open as if it were nothing. When he lifted it toward me, I jerked away, but he pulled me against him by my wrist and forced the bloody thing to my mouth.

His bloody was like licking a battery. It tingled on my tongue, and seemed to shimmer when it caught the light. The color was a deep, unnatural red, but when I tasted it, I couldn't stop myself.

Hesitant at first, I drew at the wound and the warm powerful liquid slid down my throat, warming me like brandy from the inside out. I breathed a sigh when the pain in my hand dulled to a quiet ache then disappeared completely, then Isaac took his arm away and I was left frightened that I had so easily succumb to drinking his blood.

What was wrong with me?

"Now it's your turn." He smiled and lifted my wrist to him lips.

"Isaac…" but I trailed off when his kissed the tender flesh of my wrist and his fangs slid down from their sheaths. Curled and terrifying, like a snakes, he gave me only a moment to see them, then bit down into my wrist.

I gasped, half in surprise, have in pain and went completely rigid. It hurt! Oh god, it hurt and when he first drew at my wrist it began to ache. His hold on me was too tight to pull away from, but I tried. Damn the Elder and what she thought of me, I didn't like this!

"Isaac, please!" I cried, whimpering when he bit down harder, eyes rolling closed. His tongue curled against my skin, catching the blood as it rolled down my arm. Deep in his chest, I heard the beginnings of a pleasant growl, but it was soft. More purr than anything else.

"Nnh-Isaac!" I tried to shove him off and Colette began to laugh. My wrist was going numb, turning the sensation of his teeth into something indescribable. When it became almost bearable, I jerk from him. With a groan, he ripped pulled his fangs from my skin wetly and nipped his own tongue, dripping the blood over the wound. I watched in amazement as the skin knit itself back together right before my eyes, closing the large wound. Isaac kissed away the last of the blood and ran his thumb across the thin white scar. (The indentions of 4 sharp teeth)

"I would never put up with such annoying complaint." Colette shook her head, sighing. "You must work on that."

He chuckled, glancing over at me, then throwing an arm around my shoulders. Again I cradled my arm against myself, but no longer could hold anyone's eyes. I stared blankly at the polished floor. What would happen when he demanded to feed from me the real way? That cluster of nerves where my shoulder met my throat…How would it feel to have him rip into them and drink deep?

What scared me the most was that I didn't know if I would hate it.

**Sorry this took so long to post, I keep sitting down to write, but find myself lost in future scenes.**

**This story it about to change dramatically, I just wanted to warn you.**

**Who knows though, you might be as fascinated by Cernunnos as _I _am. -cough-**

**For those of you who know pagan mythology at all, this should be...neat. :D  
**


	5. Failure to Flee

Colette had let us leave with orders to return soon. She kissed Isaac on the cheek and shot me a distasteful look, and then we were out of the library. Her Shadow hurried in the door behind us, to tend his mistress. I refused to let Isaac hold my hand now, though I walked close to him in case any other vampires sought to harm me.

As we left the manor and headed for the car, Isaac pulled up short. Sanura leaned back against the passenger door. The man in her arms was sagging to the ground, his skin an odd shade of pale. When she saw us, she tossed him aside without a thought and smiled at Isaac. The man hit the ground hard, breaking something, but by the dull glaze of his open eyes, he was already dead.

"So it's official now." She asked as we approached. I stood a step behind Isaac and watched her closely, though if she chose to strike I would have been screwed. Isaac smiled charmingly and pulled his keys from his pocket.

"She is mine for as long as I choose to keep her."

Sanura sighed leaning onto the top of the car as he rounded it to unlock his door. "Why is it you've never called on me Isaac? We used to have so much fun together. Back in the old world, you and Daniel were _legends_ among the Seethe. I could hardly keep up with you."

I watched his smile fade at the mention of that name. This was twice he'd lost his humor over this vampire. Whoever he was, Isaac did not call him friend. Sanura tilted her head, expression one of question. She looked almost sad.

"I know I can not bring the two of you back together, but _we_ can still enjoy ourselves. Why have you never asked me out feeding?"

Isaac's smile returned, but it was tight and irritated. His eyes flashed maliciously before he answered. "I suppose it's because I slept with you." She only chuckled.

"And?"

"And then I got bored."

My eyes went wide at his bluntness. Any normal woman would have been furious at such a statement. Maybe slapped him and stalked off, but not Sanura. She gave him a sad smile and pulled away from the car.

"I will try to be here when you visit again. We all know Colette will not release your leash so easily." Her eyes wondered to me, and I was surprised to find no hostility in them. "There is rumor that she has plans for you now that you've come back to us. No doubt she will try the same once Daniel returns as well."

Isaac's jaw clenched and the female vampire gave a soft sigh. Her bright green eyes slowly darkened to black and she turned back to him, her expression solemn.

"Do not trust her Isaac. We have lost many to her plays for power. I could not stand to loose _you_ as well."

With that, the vampire turned and left for the house, her movements far too fluid to be human, and the display was unnerving. Isaac followed her with his eyes the entire way, then let slip a soft growl and slid into the car. It rumbled to life as I was opening my door and hopped in.

He shifted and hit the gas aggressively, letting the tires shriek beneath us and spray gravel at the stone wall of the manor. I had barely closed my door when we were peeling out of the driveway and down the road. He ignored traffic signs and downshifted while I fumbled with my seat belt. We would not crash, his reflexes were too quick for that, but the speed was still unnerving. After a few minutes of silence I frowned out my window. I didn't recognize this road anymore.

"Where are we going?" I asked, careful to keep my voice soft in case he really was furious. The vampire didn't acknowledge me at first. He shifted again, and the speedometer wavered at 95. Then after it seemed he would not answer at all, he sighed.

"I'm hungry." He said simply. "We're going into the city tonight."

"But I don't want to go out an-"

"Well, unless you're willing to feed me yourself…"

I didn't have to reply which made him smile for the first time since getting in the car. "It's settled then."

His arm went behind my seat and he rooted around for something, returning with a lump of black material. "The place we're headed would accept your wearing such fine dresses, but honestly it would be too distracting. I won't find my meal if I can't take my eyes off you."

I blushed and took the thing he offered, which turned out to be a dark blue dress. Frowning, I glanced over at him.

"Why is it you seem to have women's clothing wherever we go?"

He grinned, watching the road. "Do you really want that answer?"

I started to say yes, then looked back at the dress. As we passed a streetlight I noticed that the hem around the burst was darker. Stained with something, though it was very little and hardly noticeable. I just knew what sort of thing to look for it seemed. My mouth closed tightly and I clutched the material in my fists.

"Good then. Now change."

"In the car?"

"In the car, or in the parking lot when we arrive. It's your choice."

Again I thought about how much of a bastard he was. I was completely naked under my gown, a fact I'm sure he remembered. But I knew he did not make idle threats, and as much as I didn't want to be naked so close to him, neither did I want to be so in public. He was the lesser of two humiliations.

Knowing that I would go his way, Isaac's fingers slid across my shoulder blades, unclipping the silver chain there and skimming up the back of my neck. I drew a somewhat shaky breath as his fingers dipped into my hair, pulling away the jeweled clasp so that it tumbled down my back. He opened the glove compartment and tossed the clasp inside then returned to his driving.

"Keep you eyes on the road, mister." I warned, then, glancing up at the rearview I pointed at it. "And keep that thing where it's_ supposed_ to be."

Isaac chuckled, nodding once. "Any more orders, mistress?"

I frowned and unzipped the side of the gown, holding it against myself to keep covered, and unbuckled my seat belt. "I can think of a few."

He only laughed as I began the embarrassing process of changing next to him.

**xXx**

The bar Isaac sped us too was on the other side of the city, so I got to sit in awkward silence with him after being naked. He would glance at me periodically, chuckling when I accidentally met his eyes and blushed. When he pulled into the parking lot and parked us I was ready to tuck and roll.

"I'm going in here to find something to eat." he said, as if I didn't know. Or perhaps just to make it clear. "Unless I get bored, we'll be leaving with her."

"Why are you telling me this?"

He turned in his seat. "Well, it would look perculiar if you tagged along-"

"I'll just wait in the car and-"

"**_So_**," he cut me with a pointed look, "You're going to have to find yourself a date."

I couldn't even be angry because it was so rediculas. "Fuck you." I laughed. When he arched an eyebrow I shook my head. "Even if I was ok with it, do you know how long it's been since I've had a date? I don't know the first thing about picking men up in bars."

Isaac smiled, unbuckling my seat belt. "Easy. Act like you're going to sleep with them."

My jaw dropped, but he was out of the car before I could retort. My door came open before I could move and he took my arm, hauling me from the car. I jerked out of his grip and took a few steps back.

"I am not going to-"

"Listen." he sighed, moving closer, "Either you find a date, or I'll find one for you. Take your pick." My clenched jaw was enough answer for him and he smiled. "Good then."

His eyes slid to the hem of my dress, just below my knees and I yelped when he reached down and ripped away the material a few inches.

"Hey!"

"Now it'll be easier." He grinned, taking my arm.

He walked me to the front doors nodding to the bouncer who let us in passed the rope. This must have been a great bar because the people outside in line shot us hateful glares. I noticed one woman twirling her finger around the curled end of a pigtail. Dressed like a slutty schoolgirl, her eyes locked on Isaac and brightened. The vampire noticed, winking at her on the way in and I rolled my eyes. He had no shame.

"Alright, baby. What are you drinking tonight?"

"You know I'm underage, right?"

He huffed and walked me to the bar anyway, guiding me into a seat and hailing the bar tender. I took my chance to look around at the place. It wasn't huge, but big enough for a stage and a dance floor. The outer walls were lined with booths with a scattering of tables everywhere else. The music was all heavy base and synthesizers. It was dimly lit, besides the lasers and colored dome lights. This looked like the kind of place you'd find acid floating around on trays, and by the odd cyber-punk and goth dress of most of the occpuants, I wouldn't be surprised. They moved about the room with glowing jewelry and flashing pacifiers.

"Did you just take me to a rave?" I asked Isaac over the music. It was low enough that we could still talk. He smiled and shook his head, handing over a glass tumbler that looked as if it had melted, and painted with neon colors. When I only stared at it, the bartender chuckled.

"Lighting glass." he motioned toward the tumbler. "You know when lighting hit the beach? It's made from sand."

"Pretty." I said and looked back at Isaac. "So do you come here often?"

The vampire sat down at the black bar seat and swiveled it around to watch the door. "When ever I'm feeling playful."

I shook my head and took a small sip of the drink. Isaac slugged his own and passed his eyes over the crowd. Pausing every once and a while to inspect some scantily clad woman, swaying to the beat. I took another sip of the vodka tonic and watched him. How many times had he done this in his long life? How many dead could he claim? Hundreds? Thousands? It was frightening to think that so many of his kind and others just just the same. People you passed on the street or stood behind in line. This was a terrible world, and it was filled with monsters.

"There you are." Isaac smiled devilishly and brought my attention to the door. The schoolgirl had just sauntered in. Her darkly lined eyes roamed across the place before they landed on the bar and us. Her posture became seductive, her movements slow. I watched the vampire meet her eyes from across the room and nod toward the seat beside him. For a moment, she looked at me, but apparently decided I was no competition and complied. Her long, silver-nailed fingers dipped into the small pocket in her plaited skirt, withdrawing a red tootsipop. When she approached I turned back toward the bar and focused on my drink.

"Hey there." her voice was smokey, practiced. She cocked a hip and smiled, giving Isaac a once-over, "My name's Candy."

He chuckled soft a wicked and swirled the dark liquid in her glass, watching as she rolled the lollipop around in her mouth. "Is that you're real name, Candy?"

She smiled, moving to his side and against the bar. "Maybe. What's yours?"

"Mason."

She tapped the bar and the bartender nodded, pulling a glass. Isaac, or _Mason_ in seemed, held up a hand. "What are you drinking tonight, Candy?"

She seemed to like it when he said her name. "Hmm, something sweet."

"Imagine that." I murmured, downing the rest of my vodka tonic. Candy's eyes snapped to me and narrowed, her hand going to Isaac's on the bar. Brazenly, she stroked her nails down his fingers.

"So, are you alone tonight?" she asked while Isaac eyed her fingers, his gaze flitting up to meet hers again.

"This is my cousin, Mira. I promised to party her out while she's visiting." Idly , I wondered why he gave my name and kept his own, but was too intent on their conversation to really care.

"That's sweet of you." She said, her flirtatious smile returning. "This is _my_ first time here."

Isaac raised his brows slightly as if interested and pushed his glass back to the tender sliding across bills for it and ours. "Oh? And what do you think so far?"

"It's not bad so far." At that she leaned in a bit toward him. Aggressive little thing, wasn't she? It seemed Isaac wouldn't even have to seduce his pray. She would do it for him. Part of me pitied her, the other was amused at the irony of the situation.

Isaac smiled in the way that made even me a little dazed sometimes, and took Candy's hand. His thumb ran across her wrist, turning the light in her eyes a bit heated. She licked her lips, trying to keep hold of the confidence she come with and waited for him to speak.

"Well, Candy, would you like to find some dark little corner and talk?"

Already starting on my second drink I tried not to smile. The two of them were a saucy duo. Right to business. The girl arched a brow and nibbled her bottom lip before nodding.

"What about your cousin?" By the way she was watching him, it was clear she said this only out of courtesy, but Isaac flashed me a grin.

"She came here to meet people, not chat with me. She'll be fine, right Mir?"

His use of a nickname, like we were close made anger flare up beneath my skin. Happy to be rid of him, I nodded and forced a smile.

"I've got my vodka in any case."

Isaac met my eyes steadily. "Try to be sociable." _Find yourself a dumb drunk. _

I nodded sighing in relief when they began to make their way toward the most heavily shadowed booths. I waited for him to sit down then stood, downing my drink and moved into the crowd.

He was an idiot.

The vampire had just left me alone in a club, expecting me to follow his orders. But there were much smarter ways to spend this rare freedom.

Like escaping.

Was he really so confident that I would mind him? Expecting me to remain in this place and wait for him, while I could slip away while he was distracted? I might sanction finding a drunk fro that so they could drive me away, but it would take too much time. I wanted to run toward the exit, but knew better.

Looking back at Isaac, I found his eyes on me and smiled, though it made my heart skip. It wasn't as if he could read my mind…that I knew…so I lifted my arms and started to dance with the others. He arched a brow as if in warning while I sidled up to a lone dancer and gave him a come hither smile. The vampire watched a moment longer, then turned his attention back on his meal.

My smile faded and I glanced at the door, then back at him. The guy stepped closer, grabbing my ass, but I allowed it despite my rage. I could do this, no time for anger. My hands went to him and I danced us closer to the doors, watching Isaac as best I could. He was chatting away with Candy while she giggled and stroked his hand.

Feeling more than a little frightened I spun around the next dancer and hurried off toward the doors. While the handsy guy was fighting through the surging dancers, I dashed to the exit and pushed out the doors.

The first breath of air was like nothing I'd felt before as I ran down the street. I knew it wasn't over yet, but already I felt weight falling off my shoulders, the vice grip on my heart slowly loosening. I would find someone, anyone, or better yet a group and beg their help. He had killed my entire family of hunters without thought, but doing so in the busy streets of a city was different. He couldn't take such risks and we both knew that. So I would-

Suddenly the curve of the ally to my right was rushing up around me and the force of contact made all oxygen in my lungs explode outward. Gasping I tried to lift myself, but felt fingers in my hair and slammed into the wall.

"You're a ballsy thing, I'll give you that." Isaac spun me to face him and slammed me back against the wall. "But did you honestly expect me not to notice you hauling ass out the door? Christ, Mira, I thought you were smarter than _this_."

Ok, so it had been a stupid plan, but I hadn't expected him to catch me _this_ quickly. He must have traced out of the club to manage that which only raised more questions. It seemed that he had left me alone, not expecting me to mind him, but knowing he could get to me when I did. I should have known better, but honestly, I couldn't have passed up the opportunity regardless. I had to at least _try _to get away from him, even if it was impossible.

"What happened to Candy?" I asked, wide-eyed and gazing up at him. The vivid blue and green of his eyes were now consumed by his pupils. Completely black and gleaming in the far-off lamplight. He growled low in his throat, and tightened his fingers around my neck until I choked.

"She's comatose in our booth waiting for someone to notice her and call an ambulance." He grinned though it was menacing. "If I loose my diner because of you, you take her place. Do you understand?"

Grudgingly, I nodded and he released my throat to let me cough. "Good, then. Shall we try this again?"

"_Sonofa…bitch_." I managed to wheeze and he gave me a light pop across the cheek, enough to startle me.

"Let's be nice now, Mira."

He took my hand and we headed back toward the club. Feeling defeated and worthless, I followed without complaint. On to take two.


	6. Candy and Ryan

**Well this is a longer one guys and gals. Somewhere in the 4000 range. O.O But I had fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy. **

**We're nearly to the changing point in this story where things will become...a bit more _complicated_.**

**Oooo...I can't wait for you all to meet _Him_.**

**Leave me some feedback for this one, plz  
**

We'd returned to the club like nothing was wrong and Isaac left me at the bar with a whispered threat should I try anything again. Being sanctioned by Colette didn't mean I would be a permanent fixture in his life, he said, and he was more then happy with draining two women tonight.

I grudgingly sat back at my place at the bar with a promise to find myself a drunken idiot by the time we left, though I really had no intention of doing so. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten the man from the dance floor.

"So I'm a bit confused." The guy said, voice a bit slurred from exertion and alcohol. "Usually when a chick grinds you on the dance floor it doesn't mean she's going to ditch you for some street punk in an alley.

I hailed the bartender, completely intent on getting hammer-smash-faced before this horrible night was over. "So you followed me outside? Gotta say, that's really not going in your favor, buddy."

The guy lost his smile a moment and leaned in close enough that I could smell the rankness of his breath. "Listen, you little bitch. Maybe your mommy never taught you about the world of men, but you can't just go flashing your shit and expect us not to take the bait. Unless you're some sort of big tease, you _look_ the type."

I swiveled my chair to face him, grabbing the front of his shirt before he knew what was happening. The bartender paused, glancing between us as if not knowing what he should do. How often was it tiny women that were doing the violence in bars? I'm sure this was a knew one.

"Listen asshole, I having a pretty bad day, not that it matters to you, I'm sure, and it's nothing compared to some of the days I've had lately; but if you don't leave me alone, I'm going to reach over this bar, steal the knife he has stashed under the counter and shove it up your ass. How's _that_ for getting some action?"

The drunk's mouth bobbed a few times before I shoved him back, watching him stumble and nearly fall. Flushing deeply, he made a show of straitening his shirt and tried to saunter away, though it came off sloppy and ridicules looking.

"I can see why he likes you." The bartender laughed, handing over my drink and I frowned.

"I don't think that guy wants anything to do with me."

"No, darlin', Isaac." He chuckled, "Sorry, _Mason_, tonight."

I opened my mouth to question him, but didn't really know how to respond. He knew Isaac's name? Did he also know what he was? Was I missing something here? The bartender shrugged and waved his towel dismissively toward the dance floor.

"I'm sure he'll find worse then you gave him, 'he keeps acting like he was."

"Isaac?"

He laughed, "That asshole." He corrected, then started wiping down his counter. "Anyway, there are far worse beasties in this place than your boy."

My boy, could hear us. Did the tender know that_ too_, I wondered. Would he be talking like this, so openly, if he did? What kind of place was this? I found myself taking a closer look at the occupants of the club. What other monsters were lurking in the booths and other obscured places in this bar? Was I in danger here?

The bartender kept me supplied with frosty beverages while Isaac played pick-up with the skanky Candy back in their booth. No one had found her while we'd been out, so it seemed I was off the hook for the feeding thing.

Hopefully.

I spent the next hour or so blowing off every guy who hit on me, sometimes being downright mean. The bartender seemed to get a kick out of it, but I'm pretty sure he thought I was going this out of some sort of fidelity toward Isaac. Despite him necking with some bitch in the back.

Evetually, I think the vampire noticed my lack of interest in the guys, and decided to send some my way. I'm not sure how he was doing it, whether he was telling them I was a big slut or simply planting in them the urge to bed me, but they came.

I'd realized the bastard's game after the first two, so when the next drunken fuck sauntered over to spit his game, I was ready.

"This is from the guy in the red." The bartender said, pushing over some fruity thing, its rim coated in sugar. He motioned half-heartedly at the one in question and walked off to tend other customers. I spun the stem and inspected the liquid, expecting to find bubbling _something_ inside, but there was nothing. (Which could mean it had already settled.)

"Something sweet." The guy said, leaning up against the bar with a lazy grin. The expresson seemed almost predatory with his sharp hazel eyes roaming brazenly over me. Once again, I cursed Isaac for my outfit and turned toward the guy with a tight smile.

"You know, I don't think I'd ever have the guts to buy drinks for random men." He raised both brows slightly. "I mean, I could be a sociopath, out trolling for victims and here you are just doing the job for me."

"You don't look the type." He shrugged, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Sociopaths never _do_. That's what makes them so dangerous."

He laughed softly, shaking his head. "You're a feisty little thing. I can see why he likes you."

"Excuse me?" I gaped. Did I have the words Isaac's bitch written across my forehead?

"Your vampire."

For a moment, I couldn't move, then my eyes snapped to Isaac in his booth with Candy. She was merrily chatting away while his eyes slid to me and this man and narrowed.

He'd heard him.

"It's ok," the guy chuckled, following my gaze, "I'm no threat."

"Buddy, you've had too much to drink." I moved to get up, but he leaned forward and took my hand. "Hey!"

Without a word, he turned it over and ran his thumb across the thin scar Isaac had given me tonight. I froze and watched as he pulled aside his own collar to flash similar scars. Many of them.

"They stop scarring once you've taken enough of their blood." He fixed his shirt and released my wrist, giving me a devilish grin that almost rivaled Isaac's. "You're a new familiar, I can tell. I know the whole things a little rocky to begin with but trust me, it gets better."

I didn't know how to respond besides rubbing my wrist and drawing it under the bar top. He leaned back against the bar again and looked out in the crowded club.

"My name's Ryan, by the way."

"M..Mira." I muttered, glancing back to Isaac. He arched a brow my way then dropped the expression before Candy could see it.

"Listen, I'm not looking to score with you, Mira-interesting name by the way- I just thought you might rather someone you could actually talk to instead of one of _these_ idiots."

"How do you figure that?" I asked, anger replacing the slight fear that Isaac would be displeased.

Ryan sighed, looking down at me. "He's hunting right?" Asked you to tag along, but with a date so as not to freak the _kine_?"

"The what?" I frowned.

"Cattle, food."

For some reason that irritated me. "You're cattle too."

Ryan only laughed, "I'm claimed, sweety. Anyone who tries deals with my mistress." Here he paused, "Does that ever sound a little dungeony to you?"

Despite myself, I smiled. "A bit."

The shadow smiled again, lighting up his handsome face. "so what do you say, Mira? Can I play your date, I promise to keep my hands to myself. I doubt you'll get the same deal from anyone else."

I glanced over at Isaac again. He was pressed closer to Candy, whispering something to her that made the girl giggle and blush. Truthfully, the chance to talk to another human shadow was tempting. What did he know about vampires? Would he tell me how live this way? While I never expected to enjoy this forced lifestyle, perhaps he could show me how to make it at least _bearable_.

"I guess it cold be interesting." I shrugged trying at cavalier, but smiling.

"I'll try my best." He said the straitened. Candy's obnoxious giggle sounded behind me and I turned to find Isaac, arm draped around her shoulders and moving like a drunk. They swayed together and he flashed a frivolous grin.

"You ready to go? Candy here tells she's got a hot tub back at her apartments."

Forcing a smile, I stood, "Sure."

Candy pulled away with a smile and glanced back at the booth. "I left my purse." She slurred and hurried off to fetch it. The moment she'd gone, Isaac lost his smile and sobered completely eyeing Ryan.

"We won't be long." He said, his eyes darker than usual, evidence of his hunger. I nodded, trying not to think about it and Ryan remained quiet, eyes on the floor. He no longer seemed commanding or dangerous. Just subservient. Before I could say anything, however, Candy stumbled over, clutching a small black thing.

"Come on," She urged, taking Isaac's arm, "let's not waste anymore time."

"Sure," Isaac smiled, looking at me over her shoulder, "We wouldn't want that."

Our group moved toward the door _en masse_, Isaac and his diner stumbling about like idiots. His ability to play these roles was somewhat unnerving, but he'd had years of practice. As we made it to the parking lot, Ryan's arm went around my shoulder. Immediately, I tried to pull away, but he held me close.

"I thought you said no hands."

"don't you think it'd look suspicious if you didn't even touch your date?" he gave me a light squeeze. "Chill, sweety, I won't kiss you unless you ask."

Blushing slightly I wnet quiet and followed my vampire to the car. (Ryan seemed fine as long as the vampire wasn't close, which seemed odd) He had a point, but seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much for my taste.

_It's better than a frat boy._ I told myself, hoping it was true.

**xXx**

"They can make it feel…good, can't they?" I asked, knees drawn up in my pool chair. Ryan and I had decided to keep a bit of distance from Isaac and his and his meal while they fondled in the hot tub. The girl had lost her clothes at some point, now clad in a dark red bra and_ hopefully_ something else. (that was questionable though seeing as she was currently straddling Isaac)

Ryan leaned back in his chair and looked up at the stars. "It depends on the vampire really. Some of them get off on the pain of the experience, but all of them can make it wonderful if they really _want_ to. Hell, if they want, they can make it into one giant orgasm. Makes for great foreplay at least." He chuckled at my flustered look and shoo his head. "I take it you haven't gotten to that yet?"

I shook my head, fiddling with the torn edge of my dress. "We're not really like that." I said, "Well, _I'm _not."

Ryan nodded, though he didn't seem convinced, "Well when you are…"

I feigned a smile and tried not to look completely uncomfortable. So far I'd learned that Ryan had been a familiar since he was 19. Now 24, he and his vampire mistress, Audrie, were still together. The way he spoke of her, said he loved the creature very much very much, though the idea seemed odd to me. I couldn't see myself loving a vampire. Not ever. But this man was unashamed and completely at ease with her eating habits. _Enjoyed_ them even.

My attention went to Isaac and Candy when she moaned, more out of reflex than any pressing urge to know what they were up to. He'd pinned her against the side of the hot tub, kissing her hard enough to make me pause. His right hand was hidden by the bubbled beneath the water, but that was fine. I didn't need to see.

Then Candy jerked and he clamped his free hand over her mouth to muffle a shriek. Ryan looked as well, his brows furrowed. Was he as open o this as he claimed? It didn't seem that way. Isaac smiled down at the terrified girl, shifting his hand beneath the water, and she cried out again in pain. Whatever he was doing down there wasn't pleasant anymore.

The vampire forced her head to the side, exposing her throat and murmured something in her ear that made tears gather in her big blue eyes. She tried to push him away, but it was useless. When he bit into her throat, she began to sob beneath his palm. I watched him jerk at her, tearing at the flesh of her throat to make her scream and biting harder when she did.

"He's playful." Ryan muttered while I swallowed my bile. The bastard was sick. Sadistic. He cold have made it easy for her. Ryan had even told me vampires could feed without killing, but Isaac wanted to toy with his food. He'd wanted the girl to suffer.

When her struggling had died to slight jerks, the vampire pulled away. He ran his finger across her gaping wound, gathering the excess blood and drawing it across his tongue when he did. Isaac moved to sit back beside her, letting the girl slump to the side, breathing shallow and then suddenly not at all. The monster touched the corner of his mouth and sighed contentedly, then his patchwork eyes slid to me.

"Come here." He said soft enough that I had to strain to hear it. Before I could even consider it, however, I was standing and walking across the pool area to him and the corpse. I don't know why I did it; perhaps he was just forcing me.

The ease with which he slipped suggestion into my mind was terrifying. How could I know what actions were my _own_ anymore?

He smiled amiably, despite the fact that I just watched him eat someone, and motioned toward his folded jacket a few feet from the jacuzzi. "Could you hand me my cigarettes, love?"

"I'm not your love." I grumbled even as I knelt to dig through the pockets of his jacket.

"_Pet_, then." He titled his head, watching me. I didn't like the hunger in his eyes. For that matter, I didn't like the way the sight of his sleek, wet chest was catching my eyes. He really was a fit guy, for someone who'd died. Rippled and…I stopped myself before I could get too impressed.

I handed over the pack of Marlboro reds and flipped open his brass _Zippo, _lighting it for him. The vampire stared up at me as he leaned forward and lit the cigarette, amusement flicking in his eyes. He was starting to make me nervous, though I kept telling myself that his eyes weren't black, so it couldn't be that bad.

"Ask your friend if he's good with a shovel."

Ryan cleared his throat from the pool chairs and nodded, "I'm familiar to the concept of digging."

Isaac chuckled, leaning back in the Jacuzzi and letting a thick curl of smoke dance out of his smile. "Why don't you make yourself _useful_ then while I talk to Mira."

The Shadow stood without another word and hurried toward us while Isaac swept me with his eyes as if curious. I watched in horror as he bent to drag the paling Candy from the water. My eyes fell on the dark bruising around her ribs. Apparently, she'd been screaming because the vampire was breaking them, one by one. The thought made my stomach turn.

While I was distracted, however, Isaac snatched up my hand and drug me into the water, dress and all, and settled me across his lap. I'd just started complaining when he took my wrist and brush his lips across my scar. The blood seemed to rush eagerly to the sensitive area, making it throb. Against my will, the sexual ache spread through me.

"Don't." I said between grit teeth. He only smiled and nipped the flesh, shooting electric tingles down my arm and making me groan. Ryan was blushing above us while he hefted the dead girl up over his shoulder and began heading for the gate, Isaac's car keys jingling at his hip. I wanted to beg that he not leave me alone, but Isaac wouldn't stop even with an audience. I knew better.

By the time the shadow had left the gate, Isaac had taken hold of my legs and moved me to straddle him. Thankfully, he was still wearing his pants, but it didn't stop my horror at the bulge there. Just like my first night with him, I was appalled that he got off to violence and pain. I wanted no part in his after-feeding ritual, if that's what this was, but unfortunately my body disagreed.

"So tell me." He murmured across my wrist, holding it again. "Are you angry that I killed her, or simply jealous that I wasn't touching _you_?"

"You're an idiot." I said, closing my eyes. As if it could stop this heat under my skin.

_You don't want to sleep with him._

I repeated it over and over in my head.

**_Are you sure?_**

The thought came from nowhere and I looked back at him. His teeth were still lengthened and threatening, skimming over my scar. My breath came in shallow pants, face burning in my embarrassment.

_He killed everyone who loved you. Everyone you had left._

**_He also spared your life. How long do you think that will last if you don't give him what he wants?_**

I let out a soft sound of surprise when his teeth sank into my wrist fro the second time tonight. The jolt of pain was enough to shake me from my unwilling arousal and replace it with fear. He chuckled when I tried shoving at his chest, but released my arm, licking his lips. His eyes darkened until the pupil consumed all color.

"What the hell do you think-"

"You taste…different." He interrupted, searching my eyes. I frowned confused. "I couldn't say anything before, lest Colette decide to take an interest in you but…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your blood," he brushed the hair from my face and over my shoulder, skimming his finger down the column of my throat. "It doesn't taste like _hers_."

"You mean I don't have syphilis?" Ok, so that was rude, but I hadn't liked Candy. The vampire smiled, shaking his head, eyes following the tiny blue lines that lay beneath the pale flesh of my arm.

"No, not just her. _All_ of them. Your different." Suddenly, he slipped his arm around my lower back and pulled me closer, breathing in the scent of my hair. "What is it, I wonder that makes you taste and smell the way you do?"

"Isaac…" I warned, but his fingers had already tangled in my hair, forcing it to the side. Fear choked my scream when he kissed the curve of my throat, where it met my shoulder. I went rigid, drawing a shaky breath, praying that he was only trying to scare me. His tongue flicked out across the skin, tasting it, before he murmured, "This is going to hurt, love."

My mouth fell open in a silent scream as he sank his teeth into my throat. Right into the cluster of nerves beneath the skin. For an endless moment, I couldn't move or breathe from the pain, it was blinding. Like fire spreading through me, burning me alive. Then, the fire became something different. The pain changed and suddenly I couldn't tell whether I liked it or not.

I don't know how to properly put into words what it felt like to be fed from by a vampire. _Really_ fed from. It was terrible and wonderful. I could feel him inside of me, his presence and something else there was no word for. At the same time it felt as if he were scraping out my insides, stinking his fingers into my heart and squeezing until the muscle oozed out from between his fingers in a red mess. There was pain here, make no mistake, but this was…incredible. Which frightened me.

The sound of Ryan clearing his throat made me open my eyes again (though I don't remember closing them, or taking such a firm hold on Isaac's upper arms.) The Shadow kept his gaze everywhere but on us, though he was fighting a smile, probably under the impression that we were playing.

"If you want her buried before sunrise, we should go."

Isaac cut him a look of pure irritation, still cradling the back of my head then sighed. "Start the car."

Ryan hurried away again, leaving me to pant, alone with my vampire. He turned his eyes on me again, still black as oil, and smiled in the way he knew made me blush. His thumb traced this new forming scar, still pulsing from his bite. The skin around it seemed to tingle. I was momentarily distracted by the way his biceps rippled beneath his skin where I held him.

"What is it about you?" he asked, almost to himself. I watched him nip the end of his tongue and lean forward. When his blood hit the wound, the tingling grew to a hot pound before vanishing completely. A brief discomfort and now I knew it would be healed, save the thin scar.

"Now then, we have work to do."

"Mhmm." I replied and we hoped out of the Jacuzzi to follow the familiar. Though I was still feeling a little dazed.

**xx**

Isaac and Ryan had been working on a hole out in the middle of nowhere for the last two hours. I knew it had taken _that_ long only because the human was slowing Isaac down, but he didn't seem to mind. The drive out here had been long as well, so much so that I'd fallen asleep in the back seat trying not to think of Candy in the trunk. Now she was in the ground, so deep she wouldn't been seen in a _long_ time.

"Is this what you do with every corpse?" I asked, honestly curious. Isaac glanced up at me, perched on the hood of his car and smiled.

"When I'm feeling considerate."

"Would Colette send people to clean it for you?" I asked and the vampire paused. His eyes went to Ryan who was trying his best not to show any reaction at all, something I'm sure Isaac noticed. After a moment, he sighed.

"Yes, but this is less of a hassle."

I nodded, chewing on my lip, my fingers were twirling in my hair, though every once and a while they'd brush the scar on my throat. Isaac had caught me doing this and smirked, which somehow made both marks tingle. Would this be a power he had over me, I wondered? Unfortunately, with the way I had reacted, I suspected so. This was _not_ good.

"Ya know, now _I_ know where the body's buried, Isaac. How can you trust that I won't tell?"

"I had a PI that asked me the same question back in the 50's." he replied heaving earth onto the grave.

"And what did you tell him?" I smiled, kicking my feet as I sat on the car hood. He chuckled, pausing in his work to smile wistfully.

"I found his home and suffocated him with his 6-year-old's intestines."

My smile vanished and I went very still. As did Ryan, though he covered it better. Well, that answered _that_ question. The vampire's eyes cut sideways to me, taking in my reaction. I had no doubt he was telling the truth. To cover some of my alarm I forced a smile.

"Glad I don't have kids then."

"No," he shoveled in the last bit of earth over Candy's body, "but you have entrails."

Right then. Point taken.


	7. Nighty

**This one's shorter, but I liked ending it where I did. More fun later.**

"I don't remember the apartment being this far away." I grumbled, arms crossed tightly over my chest. "Or in this direction."

Isaac sighed, but didn't look at me. "That's because we aren't going to the apartment."

"Then where are we going?"

"Somewhere else."

The drive had already lasted a good hour since we dropped Ryan off at the club and bid him farewell. Farewell in the form of a forced, smiling goodbye from me, though I couldn't let him touch me after disposing of Candy. Maybe that makes me a bit of a hypocrite being that I was with a vampire, but it made me uncomfortable. Isaac was a monster, he killed things because he was twisted and cannibalistic, for a regular human to join in the fun…it was just wrong.

The monster stretched in his seat and clicked his many silver rings on the steering wheel. I don't like people bullshiting me, and after my batched escape attempt I was feeling a little bolder. I'd realized that despite all his menace and threats, I was still relatively unscathed. Sure he'd crushed my hand and fed from me twice, and nearly…he still hadn't killed me. For whatever reason, he wanted me alive and healthy enough to fight with him.

So I did.

"Are you going to tell me? It's not like we're going in the same direction or anything."

"Is 'shoved out onto the freeway' the same direction?" He asked, tightening his hold on the steering wheel. The bar creaked softly until his grip and I arched a brow. Someone was feeling pissy.

"Ok Mr. Temper-Tantrum, how far is it?"

"Mira…"

"Is this lovely drive going to last much longer? And speaking of which, how the _fuck_ are you in the**_ sun_**?"

He snapped then with a growl and whipped out his arm to grab the back of my neck. I yelped thinking he was about to bash my face into the dashboard, but he only squeezed until it hurt. Hunched forward, I tried to lift my hands in surrender.

"It's like riding with a toddler_. Damn it_, Mira." He took a deep breath and the tension slowly vanished. I pressed myself in to the door, glaring at him and rubbed my neck where there would definitely be a bruise.

"You don't like kids?" I asked huffily. Isaac's lips lifted into a tight smile.

"What's not to love? Tiny, snack-sized people."

I grimaced. "You're disgusting."

He ignored me after that, but lucky me, my nettling had gotten him to drive faster.

When we pulled into a large gate I started to get a bad feeling. This was eerily similar to Colette's house, and I really didn't want to see that woman again any time soon. It was a different house, I knew, but that could mean it was the home of another vampire. Another elder maybe? This night had been long enough.

"Isaac?"

"If you open your mouth again, I'm going to reach down your throat and tear out your lungs."

"Is that even possible?"

"Let me know when I try."

He sped down the drive, through trees, eager to get me out of the car. Cool with me, though the big house we were pulling up to didn't look very inviting. It was more modern then Colette's estate, a little flashy. Whoever live inside had gotten it to impress and hadn't failed. As we pulled up to a docking door I clutched my arms tighter.

We were surrounded by cars in what looked more like a private dealership then a garage. Classic and new. Isaac parked us in an empty slot and unlocked the doors. I let myself out to frown at everything.

"Is this some sort of party?" I asked as he spun the keys around his finger and moved toward a cabinet.

"What are you talking about?"

I motioned at the cars and he laughed, loosing the foul mood as if it had never existed. (Which struck me as kinda bi-polar and was unnerving) The vampire opened the cabinet with a small key and hung his keys among many others.

"We're alone." He looped his arm in mine and walked me toward the door. "This is one of mine."

As in his house?! He _owned_ this place? "Then why the hell were we staying in an apartment?" That last bit kinda slipped out before I could stop it but he chuckled.

"That was my city pad, this is my home."

I giggled at his use of the word _pad _then forgot how to breath as we entered the estate and moved into the entrance hall. I say _hall _as in huge fucking room with a domed ceiling, double staircases and art and..holy crap this place was nice.

"Are we really staying here?" I asked, feeling not unlike a child on Christmas. Who doesn't have the rich-people house fantasy?

"For a while. I take it you aren't upset by this?"

I waved it off, "Dismayed."

"Oh, good then." He didn't let me stop to admire the place, but kept moving until we'd climbed the stairs and gone down the right hallway. "You need to sleep now. Busy day tomorrow."

"Will we ever have a night to just…chill?" I asked. He reached out and opened a door to one of the many rooms in the hall. It was big, furnished in dark woods and deep colors, and had a bathroom door on the opposite wall. He ushered me in quickly and closed the door, striding then to a walk-in closet.

"Take off that dress, I don't want you getting anything wet." He called from within while I scoffed.

"Absolutely not." I turned to look at the big canopy bed made up in a dark sapphire and silver. Whoever decorated for him had taste. "I've heard that quite enough for a while."

When I turned back, he was standing there. He tossed a lump of material onto the edge of the bed and grabbed me. His expression was blank as he spun me around and lifted my hair to unzip the back of the dress.

"Were you even listening?" I hissed, trying to jerk away, but his arm snaked around my waist and held me tight against him.

"Not really." He murmured. Before I knew what was happening, he had stripped the shoulders down my arms and the dress pooled around my feet. Instinctively, my arms moved to shield myself, where I could, and he turned me back around. Again there was hunger in his eyes, only now I was completely helpless. He arched a brow at my arms then met my eyes.

"Remember when I promised I'd see you naked?" I tried to pull away from him, but he only smiled. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm tired, pretty little Mira. Otherwise I wouldn't be laying you across that bed to _sleep_."

"You're not going to touch me."

"Not tonight."

"Not ev-" He pressed his finger to my lips with a sly grin.

"Let's not make promises we can't keep." He said and pulled the material he brought off the bed. "Now, be a good girl. Arms up."

It took me a moment to understand what he was asking and when I did I still couldn't move. Was he seriously going to treat me like a child, or an invalid? I frowned, but he gave me a pointed look and nodded toward my arms. Feeling sick, I slowly raised them and his smile widened.

He took an endless, humiliating moment to look me over before he pulled the short nightgown over my head and down my thighs. His fingers traced slowly back up to my hips before dipping back to cup my ass and tug me up against him. Now flush with his body, I grabbed his shoulders to steady myself and tried to keep from hyperventilating.

"Try not to stay up too late. You're getting up at 10." He seemed to be enjoying this strange little Daddy game.

"In the morning?" what was that, like 3 hours from now?

"_Tonight_, Mira. Do try to use your brain, I know you have one."

I shoved away from him, landing on the bed with a huff and glared. Isaac only laughed, shaking his head.

"Goodnight, pet."

I didn't move until the door closed behind him, and by then I was too exhausted to explore anyway. I drifted off to thoughts of Candy and Ryan. Colette with her hair blowing around her and looking furious. What did he have planned for tomorrow?

**I'm hoping to get the next chapters up pretty soon, cuz they're the ones I've been waiting for and I'm all giddy now.**

**BTW, the _Him_, I referred to in the last chapter was not Ryan.**

**Also, sorry about the lag in my posting, lots of distractions lately. Oh, drama, how I love the. Riiight.  
**

**:D**

**-Kisses and Entrails-**


	8. New Job

"Oy. Check _this_ out."

I jumped from my place on the couch. I'd been enjoying my time alone since Isaac had left me earlier tonight. He'd complained that he was starving, but didn't feel like dragging me along this time. Something I was more than thankful for. He'd left me with a friendly threat and the knowledge that it was 15 miles to the nearest main road, and another 7 to the nearest town. In other words, I'd better stay inside like a good little girl, which (for whatever reason) I did.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a heavy sigh.

Isaac grinned excitedly and hoped over the coach to sit beside me. At first it was startling to see tight leather pants and a dark mesh shirt. Part of me wanted to mock him and the other…we won't talk about the other.

"I met this BDSM bint two nights ago, didn't kill her like I'd planned though. Kinda got sidetracked about the time she slipped under the table and started-"

"_Move. On_." I stared at him. Isaac shook himself from the reverie with a slight smirk. We were having this problem a lot, his whole sharing everything about his ideals and conquests. Perhaps knowing I was trapped with him on pain of animalistic death made keeping secrets a moot point, though I think he did it now just to mess with me.

"Anyway, I took her to this place downtown with promises of total immersion."

"Please get to your point." My head rolled back against the couch cushion. The vampire breathed a quick, irritated sigh and rolled his eyes.

"You are no fun at all. The point, my impatient plaything, is that I got _this_ for the occasion."

Instantly I pulled away and raised both hands. "If you whip out some crazy sex toy, I swear I'll-"

But he shot across the couch and wrapped a steel arm around my back and kissed me. His tongue slipped between my teeth, parted mid-yell. For a moment the shock at his closeness made me freeze. He could crush me simply by tightening his arm, but he seemed content with rolling his tongue across mine. My struggle was pathetic, I loathed to admit. For just a moment, I thought of my loneliness the past year, and I let it happen. Then, narrowing my eyes, I closed my teeth over the silver barbell he'd gotten in his tongue.(The thing he'd wanted to show me) It was the only thing I could grab as he tried to retreat, before I bit off his fucking waggler. Instead the post popped out of his tongue and remained between my teeth. He made a soft sound beside my ear when his head dropped as if in pain. It was too late by the time I realized he was growling.

Isaac raised his head, eyes lidded as he looked at the silver barbell sticking out of my lips. My eyes shot wide, fearing that he was angry, and then remained that way because I realized I'd just turned him on. He ran his tongue along the line of his teeth and grinned in that dark wicked way that made me nervous and grossly attentive at the same time.

Eagar to distract him and get back up (maybe into my room) I pinched the ball between my thumb and forefinger and held it out to him. Without speaking, he bent his head, sucked it passed his lips and shoved it back into place. I heard the little pop of resplitting flesh and grimaced.

"How do you keep it in? Doesn't your body heal too quickly?" I will admit, I was fishing for a distraction.

Isaac looked as if he planned to ignore me and push this further, but he pulled back and loosened his grip, keeping me flush against his side, locked tight by his arm.

"_Quickly_ doesn't do it justice, but yes. As long as I keep a piercing in, it will just close around it, until I take it out. I have to repierce them each time, but that is obviously simple enough."

I nodded and turned my eyes on the television screen. The news was showing a dirty alley crawling with police and yellow Crime Scene tape. I frowned as I watched them wheel a long body bag into the back of a coroner's van. The reporter returned with a plastic, grim face, and shook his head.

"Ah." Isaac mused, getting comfortable on the couch. "_That _was quick."

I shot him a look, then turned back to listen to the report.

"…_girl was found mauled by what appears to be an animal. However, there were no reports of large dogs in the area. It is possible she had just finished up a night at the warehouse hotspot she was found stashed behind. This 'club' is a known…"_

"Isaac?" My jaw was clenched, fists balled against my jeans. He glanced over the cigarette he was lighting eyes irritatingly cool. "Is that…" But I couldn't say it. A bit of me was scared he wouldn't appreciate the query.

"Tarrin? Yes." He took a drag and turned to gaze at me, awaiting my reaction. It took a minute, but I swallowed my uncertainty and glanced at the TV. A pretty smiling brunette was posted across the screen in summer shorts and a blue tank top. She looked happy and normal, nothing like I'd expect from someone who spent their time in bondage clubs. Really tells you something about people, doesn't it?

"I thought you said you didn't kill her."

He chuckled. "I said I didn't kill her _two nights ago_."

My response was a nod of the head. I got to my feet. "I'm tired." I said and strode toward the front hall as fast as I could without sprinting. Isaac moved across the room to stand in my way with a sly smile. I opened my mouth to demand he move, but the vampire spun us around to pin me against the wall.

"Slow down there, James Bond, that was a little too slick for me."

I frowned at his teasing and tried to get away, but as usual the prick was too strong. Unfortunately, even the thought of touching him was making my skin crawl. He'd _killed_ her. Ripped her_ apart_. I wasn't stupid, I knew he killed on a regular basis, but I was very rarely privy to the details. The only way I knew how to deal with this situation was to ignore the unsavory bits, but I couldn't when his victims showed up on the evening news.

"Get off of me." I growled, glaring at the hardwood floor. He chuckled, slipping his fingers into my hair and pulling it tight, forcing me to look at him.

"Or what?" He spoke it like an honest question, searching my eyes. His expression was almost excited, which kind of disturbed me. "Tell me, what will you do?"

I grit my teeth, "One day you'll get hurt Isaac, or something will happen and you'll be left weak." It was hard to keep my voice level. "And when that happens-"

"You'll be there, right?" he pushed away from the wall, releasing me and rolled his eyes. "How original."

"That or I'll set you on fire while you sleep." I smirked, crossing my arms. "You guys are bad with fire aren't you?"

The vampire arched a brow, but smiled. The glint of silver as he spoke was a distraction, as were the leather pants. Because damnit, he could pull them off. REALLY FUCKING WELL. I needed to get away from him before my libido forgot who and what he was.

"Gettin' cheeky, love." he leaned back against the wall and took a drag from his cigarette. (How he'd kept it lit and unbroken I have no idea) "Though I'll admit, it's not a terrible development."

"Bite me." I snapped, then cursed myself for letting something so stupid slip. Isaac smirked, running his eyes over me slow enough to make me blush.

"If you insist." He took a step toward me, closing his fist around the lit cigarette without so much as a flinch. I stiffened, pressing back into the wall, but suddenly, he'd gone very still, his smile vanishing. I watched the color in his eyes melt away and turn black, and he moved like a blur to the lounge room door. when it flew open I flinched, then promptly went cold.

The front hall was not empty as it should have been. Lit only by the fire blazing behind us, I gazed out at the small group that had gathered at the center of the huge front room. The first one I recognized was Sanura, dressed in a low-cut silky top and dark jeans that might as well have been painted on. Then again, that might have been my low self-esteem talking.

Beside her, to my surprise, was Ryan. Looking wealthy and attractive in jeans and a dark leather jacket, he stood beside an older woman, maybe in her late 30's. She had dark curling hair and cold grey eyes. Her arm was linked with Ryan's at the moment, so I assumed this was his vampire mistress Audrie. Behind them were a few other vampires and shadows that I didn't recognize.

Before I could wonder what the hell any of them were doing there, however, the small crowd parted and in strode a small, willowy young girl. Her blond hair was piled on top of her head in complicated braids, and she was wearing another expensive cashmere suit skirt and jacket, in a pale blue.

"Colette," Isaac said, only barely holding back the irritation in his tone. No doubt she caught it anyway. "I was not aware that I was hosting a gathering tonight. You didn't give me time to prepare and-"

"We need to speak." she said simply, cutting him off. Isaac arched a brow.

"I told you we would be returning to your manor. I _am_ known for keeping my word."

The elder frowned, cornflower-blue eyes narrowing sharply. "Do not take an attitude with me, boy. I would not have come if the matter wasn't urgent."

He was tense, I could see from the lounge, but he pulled on his best charming smile and swept his arm toward my hiding place. "Then, by all means, come sit down and we can discuss it."

Colette nodded curtly and moved into the lounge without another word. I felt her eyes on me as she passed, but other than that I was ignored by all the guests as they filed in. Isaac entered last, his fingers closing tightly around my wrist and hauling me toward the door.

"Let her stay," Colette waved her hand as she settled in the carved wooden chair by the fire. Somehow, she made the old thing seem like a throne. "She will need to know what you will be doing if she's going to accompany you."

Isaac's grip tightened until I gasped in pain, but he didn't notice. "Oh?" he sounded far from calm.

"Unless you feel comfortable leaving her with someone while you're away." Sanura smiled wickedly from behind the couch. She chosen to stand, but that might just have been to get a better view of Isaac with the way she looked at him. The vampire ignored her though and arched a brow.

"Away _where_?" he asked deliberately.

Colette smiled and once again, my blood ran cold.


	9. Windsor Forest

"You remember Josep, do you not?" Colette asked from her throne-like chair. Isaac nodded once. When he did little else, Colette motioned to the couch across from her. "Sit, boy, you and your plaything."

Isaac's jaw clenched, though I might have been the only one who noticed. He dragged me into the room and pulled me onto the couch beside him.

"Months ago I was sent word that my dearest Josep had left for Bavaria. He wished to live with Amhlaoibh."

I frowned a bit and glanced between them. Was that a name?

"I wasn't aware that Olaf fancied the boys." Isaac replied with a tiny smirk. His mistress only sighed, gesturing mildly.

"Amhlaoibh fancied everything recently. Perhaps it was his downfall."

Isaac suddenly lost his humor, posture going stiff and tense. "Olaf is dead? But, how? He was an _Ancient_."

"We do not know quite how it happened." Colette smiled in an almost sad way, "He had been so distant lately, hunting little, if ever. It is possible he did not fight because he simply didn't wish to. Common enough in those who have lived to see everything about the world they knew change." Then her gaze snapped up to us. "But this is not the point. What we do know is that Josep was responsible, and as is my right, I _will _claim his blood in retribution."

"And you wish for me to bring him to you." Isaac sighed "Very well. Where will I find him?"

Colette's smile was cold as she watched her _childe_ closely, gauging his reaction to her next words.

"He has fled to the old world." She spoke slowly, "I am told he hides himself in Windsor forest."

Beside me, Isaac stiffened. I turned in time to watch his eyes widen, but the expression vanished quickly. Was he actually frightened? Was that possible? This was far from reassuring.

"And I am to what? Waltz in and out with him?" He spoke softly, not lifting his eyes to his mistress. "Have I displeased you?"

Colette laughed her soft tinkling laugh, and raised her head. "Never, my sweet. It is because I _trust_ you that I ask you to do this. Who else would try for me?" When he only glanced blankly up at her, she sighed. "You will be rewarded for your trials, boy."

"If I still **live**." he snapped.

I looked between the two, gnawing my lip anxiously. This was starting to turn ugly. I could feel the air around me cooling as if the vampires were sucking the warmth right out of it. Colette's pretty blue eyes narrowed, the pupils swelling to consume them until they were completely black. Her fingers curled around the carved arms of her wooden throne like claws and she peeled her lips back against elongated fangs.

"You will bring me Josep alive." her voice was all power, a thousand voices in one. It seemed to fill the room and yet she spoke in a level tone. I pressed back into my seat as she gazed at Isaac. "He has brought Final Death on an Ancient and _will_ be punished for his crimes."

"Yes, my lady. But-"

"_You will bring me Josep, or you will take his place_."

Isaac's jaw clenched, but he bowed his head in submission. "It will be done, my lady."

For an endless moment, I thought Colette would attack, but slowly the room grew warm again and she released the arms of her throne. (the wood now sported deep indentsions where her fingers had been)

"Do this quickly, Isaac. I am not the only one who waits for his blood."

The vampire nodded and stood. I noticed that his eyes were black, though his expression was otherwise empty. He gave a short bow, then stormed from the room. Usually, I was happy to see his go, but now that it meant I was alone in a room full of monsters...yeah, not so thrilled. Searching the small gathering, I noticed that Sanura had disappeared as well. Her whereabouts weren't hard to guess though.

"You look cornered." Ryan surprised me by stepping up to my side. his smile was dazzling, if a little forced.

"What does that mean?" I asked, sitting strait. The shadow sipped a glass of amber something from Isaac's small bar, and chuckled.

"You know that panicked expression people get when they're trapped or surrounded?"

I offered him a feint smile, "Yes, well. I'm still not used to this."

"It gets easier." he promised.

"You mean eventually I won't feel like they're all just waiting to kill me?"

Ryan's eyes snapped nervously around the study, and he frowned. "It would help if you wouldn't say things like _that_."

Ah, yes. Crazy good hearing with the vampires. I glanced around to find a few had turned our way, even stiffened when I noticed Colette's sideways glance.

"Well, I rarely censor myself, so would you like to talk somewhere else?"

His smile became a little wicked. "Lead the way, sweetheart."

Blushing a bit, I stood, taking the arm he offered me, and moved toward the door. This time, I could feel the eyes of the others as they murmured amongst themselves, but refused to look. It quickened my pace until Ryan pulled back on my arm, slowly me down.

"Stay calm," he murmured from behind a smile, "Running only interests them."

"Great." I grumbled and we finally slipped into the main hall, closing the door behind us.

"Still adjusting then? Ryan asked, all tension he'd had meted away and he was once again the cocky man from the bar. I'll admit, it was a bit of a relief to see him here, though I'd never planned to talk to him again after Candy. It still bothered me that he'd helped Isaac so readily in disposing of a body. However, at the moment, he was the only familiar _human_ someone I could talk to.

Also he looked really good tonight, and it took my attraction off of Isaac and his damn leather pants of evil. (I say evil in the fact that they so thoroughly held my attention)

"So?" the shadow put his hands into his pockets and arched a brow. "What did you want to talk about?"

I ignored his playful flirtation and frowned. "This place, Windsor forest...Why did it make Isaac so upset?"

Ryan's smile melted then, making me wish I hadn't spoken. "I don't know much," he began. "But what I've heard is that it's one of the few places left that humans should completely avoid. It's hidden by old magic, but every once and a while someone stumbles in."

"I take it they don't stumble out?" I muttered, already pissed that I would have to go to this place. Ryan nodded, laughing when I cursed.

"It's not a black hole, Mira. It's just..._sacred_. Audrie says it's the resting place of the oldest Seelie court."

"The what-now?"

He sighed, "The Fae."

"Oh!" I tried to not show my interest, "you mean like fairies and stuff?"

"And stuff." he replied, shaking his head. Ryan linked his arm in mine and began walking us toward the front door. "But it's in Europe, so that's cool. Bring me back one of those Big Ben statues or something."

"The 'old world', right." I took a deep breath of the outside air, leaning up against Ryan, then promptly froze. There were voices outside in the lawn, so we went silent.

From the sound of their voices, I knew it was Isaac and Sanura, and they were arguing in another language. Vehemently. I scowled, pressing back behind the concealing shrubs along the outside of the porch. This was one of those time that I wished I'd paid attention in French, rather than moon over the quarterback that sat next to me.

"That's french right?" I leaned back against Ryan to whipser. Isaac was cursing. I caught Mairde and something about dogs, far too long to be 'son of a bitch'.

Maybe he was talking about Colette, I mused happily.

"You don't speak it?" Ryan asked softly. I turned to him with a slight frown.

"Do you?" I was sort of impressed.

He laughed quietly and patted my back. "Don't get too excited. It's just enough to catch on."

"Well then..?" I nodded toward the argument, jumping when something crashed or was broken. Isaac was getting more aggitated by the second.

"Something about..the sun?" he murmured, frowning, "and...I think he said hunted. Maybe hunting, I'm not too clear on the tenses."

We went silent a moment, listening hard, and I strated when I caught my name, and looked at the shadow. He stared ahead toward the pair of vampires and listened moment longer.

"What did he say about me?" I asked.

He exhaled, "That was alot..whoo...alright, um he definately doesn't want you to go, and he said something about meat."

"Meat?" I asked, not liking the sound of it at all.

"Yeah, I caught meat."

"Yes," I cried out when I heard Isaac right beside us, pressing into Ryan as if he could protect me. "Meat, as in dead."

"We came ou here to get away from the crowd, man. dind't mean to snoop." Ryan gently removed me from his arm when Isaac's black eyes pased on my hands. The vampire looked up at me while Ryan continued to apologize.

"Stop talking." he said simply and the shadow feel silent. Then after starring at me a long moment, he nodded toward the door. "Go pack your things, we have a flight to catch in 3 hours."

"What things?" I scowled. I didn't want to go wherever we were headed. The vampire sighed heavily, touching his temple as if he had a headache, though I don't think vampires could actually get them.

"The clothes I bought you two nights ago, when you took until the bloody stores closed to settle on what you wanted. That will never happen again, by the way."

I smiled, thinking back to that night. Isaac had been forced to sit at the bench outside the dressing rooms as I tried on clothes. He'd argued that we could just take things back later in true guy fashion, but I'd wanted to try everything on just in case. And it was a bit funny to see him sulking when I finally came out.

So, giving Ryan a gentle squeeze on the arm, I hurried inside. There was a suitcase on the top shelf of my closet, big enough that I stuffed everything inside, including my new shoes. I'll admit that Isaac's being loaded was not a terrible thing to live with. Though he made it clear he wouldn't be lavishing me with expensive gifts, I could talk him into ordering food any time I was hungry.

I didn't return down stairs after that, deciding that it felt salfer to remain in my room. Though it might have been nice to chat with Ryan, I don't think he would have been very talkative now. By the time Isaac finally came to get me, I had passed out across my bed. He practically drug me down to the car, and we raced to whatever airport catered to vampires. It seemed an odd concept to me, but Isaac told me Colette had provided us with a private jet, modified for situations just like this.

The airport was small, with only a single airstrip and a couple small planes. Suited men carried our lugage to the hold. When I got out of the car, i was surprised to find Sanura waiting on the short stairs up to the cabin. She smiled at Isaac, big and beautiful, and he aknowledged it with a grunt as we boarded.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, yawning. Isaac sank down into one of the few stuffed seats in the front, and popped open a panel on the side of his seat. He took out a handful of tiny vodka bottles and tossed a couple to Sanura before grabbing more.

"Berkshire, England." he replied, downing a bottle and tossing it into the seat beside him.

"And Windsor forest is there?"

"It's close." Sanura replied for the grumpy vampire. She smiled, making me a bit uncomfortable with the sudden friendly act. I was still of the impression that Sanura was a bitch, and it was odd to see otherwise. It would have been easier to think of her like I did all the others, as an evil souless monster. "The flight is going to be long. You might as well go to sleep."

That really wasn't a bad idea, I thought and shuffled over to the chair against the far wall of the cabin and leaned it all the way back. After that I was alseep within mintues.

**Sorry if the end seemed rushed...but it kinda was. I'm just trying to get to the next part of the story and didn't want to go into much detail about the flight over.**

**I happy though, to be getting closer to Him. **

**Anyway, hoping to post the next chapter soon, if everything works out.**


	10. Holloway Sanatorium

When we stepped off the plane in was late afternoon. Isaac told me we'd had to stop and refuel, which had taken longer than expected, but it didn't matter, now we had the a few hours to relax before getting to the task of retrieving Josep. Sanura remained in the plane as we entered the limo Colette had waiting for us, and I noticed that she'd remained at the back of the plane as Isaac opened the door. I watched the plane disappear into the distance as we drove away then turned to Isaac with a frown.

"Why doesn't she come with us?" I asked as he pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels from the armrest and poured himself a glass. I refused the glass he offered me and crossed my arms.

"Sanura is afraid she'll get a tan." he replied, shrugging, "She'll meet us at the hotel once the sun has set."

This made me scowl. "But you haven't started burning and I've seen you in direct sunlight. How could you be immune to it if she isn't?"

To this he gave only the slightest smile and drank down my glass of whiskey, then turned to watch our progress through the tinted window. I waited for a reply, knowing that had meant there wasn't one, and wanted to hit him for it. Did this mean Sanura was weak? Or Isaac was special? I didn't like the sound of the latter.

The Hotel was huge, something the rich bunked at during their year-long vacations. It was crawling with maids and bellhops. When we entered, almost immediately, we were rushed by a small group of staff. All seemed to know Isaac and seemed extremely pleased that he was here, which I assumed meant that he was a generous tipper or a regular guest.

They paid attention to me only because I was with him. One man hurried over, taking my bags from me before I could speak and dashed off to the elevator. More hurried out to the limo to retrieve the rest of our things, though we hadn't brought much, and it was mostly Sanura's. Once we'd made it to the elevator and out of the clamoring crowd, Isaac wrapped his arm around my shoulders and grinned.

For some reason, I was fascinated by his reflection in the steel around us. I'd known he had one, but sometimes the stereotypes were hard to forget. The vampire leaned back against the rail and began to hum. When the doors opened, I slid from his grasp and walked on ahead. They'd said our room number enough downstairs that I could find my own way. He however had the key, and took his time pulling it from his jacket pocket and swiping it through the panel box above the door handle. As we entered the room, my jaw dropped.

"This isn't a hotel room." I murmured, pausing in a living room area, "this is an apartment."

Isaac laughed and slipped out of his jacket, laying it across the back of a darkly upholstered armchair. "Yes, Colette has done her best to distract me from our real purpose here. Perhaps she truly believes finery will make me forgive her."

I turned to him then, frowning and wringging my fingers. "Will it really be that dangerous?"

He must have heard the fear in my voice because his eyes snapped over to me before he crossed the room in a moment and took my hand. "You're afraid?" he asked, and for once there was no humor or amusement in his tone.

I shrugged, pulling away from him. "I wouldn't mind knowing what was going to happen out there tonight, but I guess that's impossible."

He smiled then, and something flashed in his patchwork eyes. I scowled at him in confusion.

"That's not necessarily true." was all he told me before going to the phone on our polished wooden coffee table. He watched me as I moved to the couch, his wicked little half smile never faltering.

"Brandon?" he greeted the person on the line amiably, "It's been a while...yeah I know, I'm sure she'll pop up eventually." he laughed at whatever the man's reply was, then looked back at me. "Listen, I'm gunna need a ride...No, no. I can find that on my own. I meant a car, you wanker." again he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

Gee, I wonder what _they_ were talking about. Men were pigs.

"Yeah, something fast and..." he grinned with a sound a pleasure, "You know me so well. I'll be down to pick it up in a bit. Let Sanura know that I've gone to talk to the little bit." when he hung up I was still frowning.

"Who's the Little Bit?" I asked.

The vampire snatched up his jacket and flung it on, looking uncharacteristically excited."She's just what you wanted." he replied hauling me back toward the door.

"Well that's great but we just got here! Can't we, I don't know, chill or something for a bit?"

"Chill?" he repeated teasingly. I cut him a look as we moved back to the elevator. Why had we even gone inside? Isaac whistled as we rode back down to the ground floor and were met by a black-suited man with a set of car keys jingling from his forefinger.

"Don't ride her too hard, she's new." This must be Brandon, I thought. Not much to look at and bad teeth. Which struck me as a bit humorous because of the British stereotype. He'd been talking about the steel-grey, phallic sports car waiting for us just outside the glass doors. Isaac laughed and waved to his friend, then hit a button on the key chain, making the doors swing up instead of out, like wings. I slid into the passenger seat, enjoying the spiteful looks from other hotel guests and those walking by. Some envied the car, others (i.e. the group of princesses currently huddled around their rich Daddy awaiting service) saw that I was travailing with Isaac, and didn't hide their glares.

"So, where are we going?" I asked once the doors lowered back down and the car purred to life.

"To see the girl with all the answers." he replied simply and we tore out of the hotel parking lot.

"Which means?" I pushed, but he ignored me after that to enjoy his new car.

**xXx**

"This girl," I said leaning against my window to look at where we'd arrived, "The one with answers..Does she work here?"

He chuckled as we passed the sign that read Holloway Sanatorium, shaking his head. "Nope."

I swallowed as the car made its slow path down the paved road and onto the huge property. The place looked more like the remains of an ancient castle than any sort of mental heath-care hospital. Was he messing with me? Why would anyone locked inside a place like this have answers to anything? Were crazy people even allowed to watch the news?

"Seriously though," I turned back to him as we pulled into a tall iron gate and were greeted by a few men in security uniforms, "why are we here?"

The vampire tsked as he slowed to a stop, reaching across the seat to squeeze my hand, "Calm down, Mira."

Oh...gee, that helped.

Isaac got out of the car then and approached the guards, which I now noticed were armed. After a short conversation the biggest one nodded and he turned back to me, motioning that I join them. I did so hesitantly, taking Isaac's hand as we approached the huge stone building. It had taken us little under an hour to drive here from Berkshire and the sun had begun to make its slow path down into the horizon. It cast an ominous light on the sanatorium, gleaming off the stones as if the whole place was on fire. I moved closer to Isaac, much to his amusement, and tried not to look too nervous.

"This isn't the 1800's, Mira." he murmured to me as we entered the huge entrance hall and approached the front desk. "These places are completely safe and they haven't actively tortured their patients in a while." then he grinned, "Not when anyone can see them."

I tried to ignore him, focusing instead on the modern waiting room and brightly smiling woman at the front desk. It all looked rather out of place within the stone walls, but in a strange way, it was comforting, so I didn't mind.

"And what can I do for you, today?" she asked, her overly-darkened eyes locked on Isaac and she smiled just a bit brighter. I glanced between them, watching as the vampire leaned against the counter and released my hand.

"I'm here to visit my sister." he replied with a flirtatious smile of his own. The woman leaned forward in her chair, arms folded on the desk. It was obvious she was showing off her cleavage, and Isaac glanced down, which made her bat her lashes, though her expression turned overly contrite.

"I'm sorry, sir, but visiting hours are strictly from Noon to 5. Most of our patients are settling down for sleep about now."

At 6? I thought doubtfully, but didn't speak. Isaac sighed and glanced down at her name tag, pausing a bit too long before looking back at her eyes, though she didn't seem to care.

"I've got to see her." he said, "I've just gotten back to England, you see. It's been so long since I last visited and we've driven all the way from Berkshire."

She pursed her lips, glancing around, then rolled her chair to her computer. "What is the name of your sister?"

"Lidia Marie Baudilare." he replied with a smile.

Almost immediately, she paled and pulled her fingers back from the keys. "Oh. Oh, no, sir, I can't let you visit her."

He pouted and I could tell she wanted to say yes, but glanced away instead as if to strengthen her resolve.

"Can't you make just one exception? 20 minutes at the least." His fingers brushed over hers on the desk, but the receptionist pulled back.

"Sir, you don't understand. I can't let you see Lidia period. She's been put into isolation. I'm sorry to tell you this but-"

Very suddenly, Isaac grabbed her wrist and jerked her toward him. I gasped, looking around for anyone that might see us. What about cameras? Was he stupid, or just that impatient?

"Tell me her room number and give me the card-key." his voice was soft, but incredibly cold, and I couldn't help but back away from him. For a long moment, she only stared at him, her jaw hanging just slightly, then she shook her head.

"Wow," she smiled, "I'm sorry, I must have zoned out a moment, it's been a long day."

"I'll bet." Isaac smiled back, his grip on her wrist now was flirtatious, his thumb working back and forth across her wrist. She smiled up at him from beneath her lashes before gently extracting her hand and typing in something into the computer. After a moment, she pulled from a drawer two sticky name tags with the word Visitor on it and handed them over.

"Now, Lidia's not feeling her best today, I'm afraid, but maybe a visit from her brother can cheer her up."

"I sure hope so." Isaac smiled, back to Mr. Charming. The receptionist glanced back at him again and grinned.

"She's on the bottom floor, that's level 1 in the elevator, room 1607." She let her hand fall over Isaac's, gazing into his eyes, "It's a restricted section, so don't stay too long. I'd hate to have to send security after you."

"Best watch myself then." he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, pulling away with a small white card. I rolled my eyes when she sighed, then thankfully we were heading for the elevator and he lost that Mr. Sexy-pants smile. It was weirding me out.

"Lidia, huh?" I asked "She's a patient. And apparently she's in _isolation_ for something _bad_."

"Yes," he didn't look at me. "I'll have to scold her for that."

* * *

**I'd planned on putting this whole section in here, but then I realized it was already 2000 words, and the comp screen is all swirly, so I'll just post the next bit tomorrow and get to forest bits early. Hoozah.**


	11. Into the Wild

Once the elevator doors opened, I felt as if all warmth had been sucked from the place. I followed behind Isaac as close as I dared, glanced nervously between the door that lined the hall. There was a large plate of glass set into the door. I imagined it was there so that the guard, during their sweeps, could look in, just in case, though I'm sure each cell had a camera as well.

Not that I was an expert on crazy mental institutions, this was the first I'd set foot in.

A good deal of the cell were empty, but I caught glimpses here and there of the occasional patient. Isaac paused at the end of the hall to look over a small map framed on the wall. As he did, my eyes fell on the cell across from us. There was a man inside, in his late thirties, it seemed. His was thin and reedy, his arms wound with lean, wiry muscle as he pushed himself up off his cot to stare at me.

His smile was yellowed and disgusting, his eyes a hellish brown the madness in them making them far darker than they should have been. I watched as he lifted himself onto his feet and approached the window, pressing his palm to the glass. I looked at Isaac, but he was still studying the map. The man titled his head, his eyes making a lazy trail down my body, pausing in the usual places, before flicking back to my face. As I scowled, his kissed the glass, parting his lips to swirl his tongue around in a vulgar proposition. I drew back, snatching up the end of Isaac's shirt and gripping tight.

The vampire finally turn, frowning at me, but followed my gaze to the man. Turning around, he gently extracted his shirt from my vice grip and stepped toward the cell. The man gave him only a glance before looking back at me, but then he frowned. His full attention turned on the vampire as if he could_ feel_ the unnatural in him, and he stumbled back a step. Isaac let his eyes go black, a slow, evil smile curling across his lips. The man shook his head, falling back onto his cot and stayed there. Thankfully I was forgotten.

"You draw admirers." Isaac commented, slipping his arm around the back of my waist and walking me down the hallway. "You should be careful with that gift."

"He was scared of you." I said as we hurried down another hall, turning too many times for me to follow. This place was like a maze. "_Before_ you did the eye trick."

Isaac sighed, slowing our pace just a bit as we came to a locked door. He swiped the key card _his _admirer had given him and we entered a hallway full of doors without windows. "The insane are attuned to a world no average human can know. While most of what they see _is_ in their head, some can also see beneath the veil."

"So he could tell you were a vampire, just by looking at you?"

"No. But he could see that I wasn't what I appeared, and knew to be afraid. Funny that only your crazed know how to trust their instincts."

I was about to retort, when he pulled me to a stop in front of a thick metal door and grinned. "1607." he murmured, "She's in here."

"Are you sure this is all necessary?" I asked, wanting nothing to do with the apparently violent mental patient. What if she attacked us?

"Completely." he replied, swiping his key card. "I would rather not go blind into Windsor, if we must go at all. Lidia might be able to tell us what lies ahead."

"And how will Lidia manage that?" I asked snidely, eyeing the door. Isaac smiled and took the handle.

"Easy, love. She's a psychic."

Before I could really let that sink in, he'd thrown open the door and pushed me inside. There was little light in the cell, and it looked like the room of a dungeon. That was the first thing I noticed. While this institution was up to code, it was clear it had been around a very long time. The walls stretched up impossibly far and the only light that shone through was from a window, high above our heads.

"They told me to beware." the voice that drifted out of the shadowed corner made my skin crawl, and I backed into Isaac. He grabbed my shoulders and moved me behind him, then stepped toward the voice.

"Hello, little bit, it's been a long time." he spoke to her in a gentle voice, as if to a child.

"Too long," she laughed, and it reminded me oddly of Colette's bell-chime giggle. "Did they desert the child? No. Not _child_, grown now. Grown and learned."

"You _have_ grown." Isaac nodded, taking another step toward the dark, and his smile grew, "You're nearly thirty now, sweet."

"Shouldn't be." I heard her shuffling across the floor, catching only the shifting of shadow against more shadow. I'm sure though, that Isaac could see her just fine. "Did you come to end it?"

"You know the answer to that. I'm not here to turn you." he chuckled and finally she stood strait, stepping into the single shaft of light from the rising moon outside.

The first thing I thought was that she looked far too old to be thirty, but looking closer I saw it was only her hair. Every strand was white, the color of bone. My mind went to the movies, where characters were frightened so badly the color bleached from their hair. Had that been what happened? Lidia titled her head, blinking and I drew a frightened breath.

She was blind. Her eyes a milky color, big and empty, but when Isaac shifted, so did her gaze. She tracked our movements as well as any normal person. My stomach rolled. I could understand why the receptionist had seemed so jumpy about Lidia; simply being in the same room with her was unnerving. I wondered if she could see us despite her eyes.

"You want to know what waits for you in the trees." she said, titling her head to regard us with a frown. "But I can't tell you. The others whisper of death, but you are not bothered by such things, are you Isaac?"

"No." he agreed. Lidia stepped closer to him, her blank stare drifting toward me and she drew a breath as if startled. Noting this, Isaac smiled, and stepped closer to her. She didn't seem frightened of him.

Then again, she _was_ crazy.

"She isn't yours, you know." Lidia spoke so softly it was almost hard to hear her. "Not that one. She's hollow, and _cold_. Why is she so cold?"

"I'm not-" but she cut me off.

"Do you like the moon?" Her attention went to the orb in question, high above us through the cell window. "All silver and bright." She frowned, eyes glazing, "But it's not real, just a reflection. Reflection of the _sun_."

Linda laughed then, soft and almost pained. "It's jealous, you know. The moon. Sits in its silvery throne and covets the light." Here her eyes fell to her raised hands and she studied them as if she'd never seen the things before. "But it's wrong. There has to be blood, _and_ light, and songs. Always songs."

She whispered the last, gazing at her hands like a lost child. "Songs to cut marble. Songs that bleed." her gaze lifted back to Isaac. "Do I bleed?"

"Frequently." the vampire sighed. He sounded just as confused by all this nonsense as I was, and moved back to my side. Not noticing, Linda nodded.

"Made_ them _bleed. Pretty bows in their hair, acting like grownups for sister's new boyfriend. She never warned them, like she should have. Never told them about the monster."

"_Psst_." I nudged Isaac, "What's she talking about?"

He smirked, leaning closer to reply. "She's remembering the night I slaughtered her family."

That made me quiet, which only seemed to amuse him. Before he could comment however, Lidia moved. She was in front of me so fast I couldn't react and the way she looked at me, so imploring; I _knew_ she was able to see us. Though it seemed impossible.

"He'll steal it away from you." she said, and her voice was reedy and frightened and begging me to understand something I couldn't possibly. I yelped when her thin little fingers closed around my wrist and jerked me closer. "The sun, he'll rip it out and leave you empty and starving. Don't let him. Don't-"

"_Lidia_." Isaac's voice cut through her warning and she jumped back, watching him as if he'd just sprouted horns. "I have no intention of making Mira a vampire. You're frightening her." She shook her head, looking back at me as if to continue, but he was suddenly in front of her. "Be a good girl."

I watched, heart racing, as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair. "Do you really intend to tell me nothing?"

"They won't let me." she insisted, voice edging on tears, and the vampire gave a heavy sigh.

"Very well, little bit. Then I won't ask."

She closed her eyes, and curled against him. "Will you hold me?" It was the first time she had sounded completely lucid. Isaac smiled indulgently and nodded against her, stroking her cheek.

"We can't stay long."

"I know. But until then? They never let me see anyone, Isaac. I'm so lonely here."

"It's all right, pet." he murmured. "I'm here now."

I'd left them then, partly to escape the frighteningly crazy woman, and partly because I felt as if I were interrupting something personal. The way he held her, it was so intimate, and she seemed desperate for his touch, despite what he'd done to her family. After being isolated so long, perhaps she no longer cared though. The thought was unsettling, along with her words.

This was the second time I'd heard about the sun, though it didn't sound as if the two were much related. Lidia's words were very likely the mad ravings of a traumatized woman. Why had Isaac even brought us here? She wasn't any help at all. I sighed, knowing there wasn't much to be done about it now, and waited outside her cell door for him to come back so we could leave.

It hadn't taken long. Isaac had returned shortly after a sharp cry from within the cell. By the slight color in his skin and his smile, I assumed he'd bitten her, but didn't bother asking. He hurried me out of the ward then and we made a quick route back to the car, skipping the reception hall completely by a side door. I guess he didn't want to say goodbye to his new sweetheart.

"Can we go to sleep now?" I asked, feeling suddenly exhausted and longing to get back to the hotel room. The vampire shook his head and drove us in a direction I didn't recognize. (not that I recognized any of it)

"We have a job to do." he replied stiffly and I was washed in dread.

"_You_ have a job. _I_ could stay at the hotel and wait for you."

"There isn't time." he said, stepping down on the gas. "I have a feeling this will not go as smoothly as I'd hoped."

"Did she tell you something?"

He chuckled. "Not much. The drugs they've filled her with seemed to have made her far loopier then I remember." then he frowned, "They made her taste strange too."

Looks like he _had _bitten her. Prick. Rolling me eyes I gazed out the window at a landscape that was quickly becoming country land. Lidia words swirled around me though, and I could keep myself from turning back to the vampire with a frown.

"What did she mean back there, about me? She said I was hollow. And I wasn't yours."

He shrugged. "I have no idea. It could be something she saw in your future...or it could be rambling nonsense. It's hard to tell with her now."

"Was she always like that?" I asked.

Isaac glanced at me a moment, as if trying to choose his next words carefully. "Human beings are not meant to have the gift she does. It is...an _anomaly_. Your minds, they cannot always stand the flow of images. In her case, the gift was just too much, and it wore away at her."

"But some people can stand it?" I asked "Why is that?"

"Those with her gift are attuned to the echoes of emotion that others leave behind. Some, like Lidia, are able to pick up on the emotions to _come_. Unfortunately, it is the negative emotions that leave the strongest of impressions. Things like anger or sorrow, or the despair of death." He looked down at me then, very seriously. "_Imagine_ that. Wherever you go, being able to feel the hatred and terror of those before you. Seeing the terrible things that happened to them, or that _will_. Not everyone can handle that much raw emotion. Think of what it must be like to close your eyes and see nothing but misery. Unable to escape it, even in your dreams."

"That's..." I shook my head, feeling sick again, "terrible. That poor girl."

"Yes." he said, turning back to the road. "_Poor_ girl."

There was a bitterness in his tone that I wanted to question but suddenly the car was pulling to a stop. I turned to look out the front windshield and suddenly couldn't breathe.

It was only a forest, I knew. Trees and animals, and flowers, but something seemed wrong. Something I couldn't understand told me that this was not the place for us. That there were other things, hiding amongst the trees, and that they _saw _us. I wanted to get out of the car, run back toward the institution, however far that was. Anything to keep from going into those thick, dark trees.

After a moment, Isaac closed his eyes and drew a breath he didn't need. "Stay close to me, Mira. And do not wander. This is a dangerous place even if you can't feel-"

"I can." I whispered, gazing out at the forest, and wishing once again that I'd been allowed to remain at his manor. My expression must have been strange, because the vampire stared at me a long time. He seemed ready to say something, but changed his mind and drove the car forward, into the tree line.

I felt it, like we passed through a wave of thin energy that crackled around the car, fighting to get inside. The air that filtered in through the vents was thick and earthy, with a thousand other things I couldn't identify, and probably didn't want to. Again, I found myself reaching to Isaac for comfort as we drove slowly, deeper into the trees.

"How will you know where to look for Josep?" I asked, wishing my voice sounded stronger than it did. Isaac, who was very tense now, shook his head.

"I assume they will take us right to him. I'm sure they're already watching."

"They?" I didn't like the sound of that.

He didn't bother explaining though. "When we get to the cabin, I want you to wait outside. Not far, stay as close to me as you can, but I don't want to risk you, should Josep be _unreasonable_."

"Can't I just wait in the car?" I squeaked, but he was pulling to a stop, or the car was stalling. It sputtered once before the engine died and we rolled a few feet. Isaac let his head bounce off of the back of his seat with a humorless laugh, before he looked over at me.

"Would you really like to stay here, all alone, waiting for me to return?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to be here at all, damnit. The vampire straitened his shirt and took my hand, dragging me over into his lap before opening the door. He stepped out, still holding me like a bride and gazed out into the darkness.

Then we were moving, and the world around me seemed to blur and blend. The trees became a solid strip of green and brown, the wind a viscous roar in my ears. He was running. Carrying me and moving in that frightening way only vampires could. Impossibly fast. The sensation made me queasy, throwing off my sense of everything. The world spun on its side, whipping and grabbing at me, and just when I thought I would lose it, or thrown up all over him, he stopped.

When my feet touched the ground, my knees buckled, but he held me upright with a tiny, distracted smile.

"It will pass, love. Just breathe."

"Don't...do that..._again_." I managed to say, burying my head in his chest until the world stopped spinning. Isaac chuckled softly and patted the top of my head, before moving forward again. It was then I noticed that we come to a clearing. The moon above was far too bright and high in the sky to be so early in the evening. It was bigger than I'd ever seen it, and seemed to light up everything around us in a blue-tinted light, bright enough that I could see.

At the center of this clearing, stood a cabin. It seemed so out of place here, that for a moment I didn't think it could be real. But as we approached it, and it didn't waver like a mirage, I decided it had to be. Light glowed and flickered in the single window that faced us, though I could see no one inside. Isaac leaned down, close to my ear, and squeezed my hand.

"Remember what I told you." he whispered and I nodded. Then he was leaving me. He turned back once to make sure I was close behind, then straitened his posture and stepped up to the door. It opened before he could grab for it, but he didn't seem startled. Instead, he stepped inside.

The cabin was made of logs, unpolished and rough. Like something out of a pioneer movie. I wondered idly who had made it as I walked the short distance to the wall and stopped. I stayed outside the door of the small cabin, running my fingers across deep scars in the wood. They looked like claw marks, as if animals had attacked this place over and over trying to get in. My eyes went to a pattern of symbols that had been etched into the wood, swirled and crossed in an intricate design that was nothing like I'd ever seen. When I touched them, they were warm. I could feel them crackle beneath my fingers, perhaps it was strange static electricity, though I didn't know that _happened_ on wood.

"Isaac?" The voice inside was rough, made me jump from its suddenness and then go very still. _Josep_, it had to be. I heard shuffling and a soft animal sound of pain. "I knew she would send someone. I'm happy it was you."

"You know why I'm here then?" Isaac asked. There was something in his voice that I couldn't quit identify, like sadness or pity. But Isaac didn't feel things like that. Not for anyone.

"I know." replied the other vampire. "And I won't fight."

I pressed against the outer wall, listening in. Something scraped across the floor and I heard a soft sob.

"You're starving." Isaac said finally. Creeping to the small window, I peeked in and saw my first of the infamous Josep.

He could have been handsome, I realized, if he weren't so thin. His hair was a light golden blond, if a bit oily, and hanging in clumps around his youthful face. Even from here, I could see that his eyes were black, his fangs so long they protruded from his pale cracked lips like some sort of sabortooth-human hybrid. As I watched, the vampire hung his head.

"I've been here for weeks." he said, "But I can't leave, they're waiting for that." He looked back up at Isaac and I caught the glint of a tear sliding down his overly-pale cheek. "They've tried to draw me out every night for the last six days. I think they knew you were coming and wanted me _first_. They parade their stolen outside the cabin. Send them to knock at the door. When I don't come, they attack, but I've set up wards and they've held."

Isaac caught Josep as he sagged and helped him into the single wooden chair by the far wall. The thin vampire made another pitiful noise, as Isaac knelt in front of him.

"They killed one." he was saying, "Dragged her right to the window and let me watch them tear her apart. Such a young thing, and pretty, but the _smell_." he groaned, "The smell was intoxicating, and they let her lay there, sobbing as she bled into the dirt, but I stayed."

He looked up at Isaac and his expression was agony. It made my heart clench in pity for this vampire I had never met, and I wanted to go inside and offer comfort, but Isaac had commanded I remain outside.

"I can't do this anymore, Isaac," he cried, "I can't take the pain, like fire. My skin is boiling, and the _hunger_..." he whimpered, "Oh **god**, Isaac I'm so _hungry_. I've never been so hungry in my life."

"Colette will kill you when we return." Isaac said slowly, his tone almost gentle, and the starving vampire offered him a sad smile, reaching out to touch his cheek with long, skeletal fingers.

"She will end my suffering." he replied.

"You know I will feed you once we've left, Josep. I hardly think-"

"Always such a cold thing." Josep said with a tiny smile, "It is not only the hunger that eats at me, that can be cured. It's the emptiness. I _loved_ Olaf. I think he might have even loved me, in his way. He was my..."he trailed off, eyes falling to the floor, and his voice turned soft so that I had to strain to hear him, "He _asked_ me to do it. You should know that. I begged him to find another way. To let me try and make him happy again, but he refused. He'd given up, and without him, I have too."

Isaac sighed and stood again, touching Josep's hair. "I know." was all he said.

The trees creaked around me as a wind battered the leaves and nearly toppled me over toward the door. I could hear things in the forest now. Things that might not have been animals and it made me want to run to the car (as if I could make it), but my curiosity had the better of me and I remained.

"That smell," Josep said suddenly, his head lifting. I watched the human grief melt from his emaciated face and his eyes swept Isaac.

"I fed just before we came." the vampire replied casually, "She struggled and I think she bled on my shirt." He glanced down, fingering the black shirttail with a frown.

"No," Josep's voice was hollow, "It's..." he closed his eyes, breathing in the wind that whipped through the door. Then his eyes snapped open. "_It's her_."

It happened so fast, I didn't understand at first. One moment, Josep was sitting in the chair, then I blinked and he was at the window, black eyes gleaming under the moonlight. His lips peeled back around his enormous fangs and then the world exploded in glass and pain and I was no longer on my feet, but flying through the empty window frame.

Vaguely I heard Isaac shout, but too late. My world was burning. Josep cradled me against his chest, his arms like steel and just as cold. His talon-like fingers tangled in my hair, wrenching my head to the side and his fangs ripped into my throat. I screamed, even as he fed from me. When Isaac had done this, he'd laced the experience with pleasure, numbing me to the feeling, but Josep didn't bother, or simply couldn't in his desperation. He drew at my vein so forcefully it felt as if I might rip inside out, and the fire built until it was in every part of me. Again I screamed, but the sound was weak, my head spinning.

Then I felt the ground leave me again and was landing in the grass in a heap. I heard Josep growling, and the sound was so deep, _resounding,_ that it echoed into my very bones and filled my veins with ice. I struggled to push myself up, glimpsing Isaac as he threw the vampire to the ground and struggled to hold him there.

"**RUN MIRA**!" He boomed and I stumbled, unable to find purchase in the dirt. I fell twice more before finally finding my balance and then I was running. My thoughts raced, faster even then my heart as I dashed blindly into the trees. The limbs seemed to reach out to me, tearing at my shirt and catching in my hair, but I fought through them.

Where was the car? I couldn't remember where we'd parked, and I was beginning to think I'd gone the wrong way. I continued to sprint however, one hand clamped against my throat, and sobbing as the wet warmth leaked out between my fingers. Would I die now? Would I bleed to death like the girl in Josep's story?

This couldn't be my end! Lost in the forest, out in the dark, alone and terrified. Not this way. I pleaded, not so like the night I had lost my parents.

And yet I ran, deeper and deeper into the trees, and despite myself, I listened for wolves.

* * *

**This turned out much longer than I'd anticipated, but oh well, I hope you enjoyed it. Anyway, I had fun with it, though admittedly a few parts felt rushed. I hope that wasn't too distracting. Writing for Lidia was fun. Especially because it all seemed like gibberish...but **_**was**_** it? :O**

**The next chapter is one I've been waiting to publish since the beginning of this story, well, since I realized it would be about more than vampires...**_**oooooppssss**_**. Did I just hint at something? Oh no!**

**Anyway, I really would like to know what you think about this one, before I post the next. Plz, plz plz review me, lovelies?**

**Till next time.**

**-Calamity-**


	12. Cernunnos

**Holy Bejesus, finally, we get to _Him_**

**I warn you, the _fit _is about to hit the _shan,_and it's gunna be...weird.**

* * *

The moon was bright enough through the tree tops that I could see, not that it gave much comfort as I ran. Every twitch of movement in the brush was some monster, every sound the call of beasts set on devouring me. The world was tipping slowly, and I figured it was from the blood loss, as I still held tight to my ravaged throat. The pain, however, kept me focused and I managed to stay upright.

Trembling and exhausted, I finally let my pace slow, taking time to look around me. Christ I was lost. Would it matter? If Isaac was unable to subdue the raging Josep, it wouldn't matter where I was. Even If I'd been able to find our car, he could tear the door from it's hinges and drain me. But he wasn't the only monster in these woods was he?

_it's one of the few places left that humans should completely avoid._

Ryan's words made me pause, twisting around to look in every direction. This was a sacred wood, he'd told me. The wood of the Fae.

And there was my next fear.

I'd read enough old stories and lore to know that fairies weren't cute little Tinker Bell things with sparkly wings and bright smiles. Hell, I'd read Peter Pan, and even _Tinker Bell _had tried to kill Wendy. Fairies were vicious and cruel and wicked. They delighted in the corruption and suffering of man. They devoured the souls of children and lured mortals into the forest to be eaten or toyed with until death. As fascinating as they seemed from afar, I was in no hurry to meet one by myself. Especially not when blood loss had already made me weak.

A rustling in the bushes to my left made me freeze. While I hoped it was nothing of supernatural origin, I also knew it could just as easily be an animal. Like a bear, or a wolf, or something else that might have no problems _mauling _me. I spun toward the sound and backed away, stumbling over a root that seemed to have sprung from nowhere and fell on my ass. When I tried to get back on my feet , I found that the root had snared my ankle. Cursing, I pulled at it, but, before my very eyes, it tightened into the ground, shackling me in place.

A warm breeze stirred the leaves around me, carrying with it the scent of turned earth and rain. My eyes fixed on the bushes, but a branch above them snapped and I cried out.

_There was someone in the tree._

My thoughts went to Josep, and I tried again to rip away the living root with no avail. I could see him, crouched like a panther, looking down at me, half hidden in shadow. For a moment, I couldn't breathe for fear, and the world once again began to spin. Just as I thought I would pass out, he jumped to the ground, landing without a sound, and my vision snapped into clear focus. Not Josep. Suddenly, I couldn't look _away_.

He was like looking into the sun. _Painful_ in his beauty. While I knew I should be terrified, I couldn't summon the fear. His skin was almost golden, seeming to glow as if he were bathed in the light of a fallen star. His features were strong and rugged, his jaw dusted with stubble.

The warm breeze stirred the dark hair that hung wild to his collar. Brown was too plane a description for its color. More like chocolate and gold and copper and a thousand other shades I couldn't identify. When he stood, uncoiling from his crouched position like a snake, the lean muscle of his powerful arms rippled, sending a flutter through my gut.

My god, but he was utterly perfect! Isaac and the vampires were beautiful. They had to be in order to lure in their prey, but this man, this _creature_ (because he couldn't possibly be human) was like nothing I'd ever seen.

For a long moment, there was only silence as the wind died down and he stepped closer, still a good 3 yards away. I don't think I could have spoken if I _wanted_ to. My voice was lodged in my throat, my jaw hanging slightly open. Distantly I remembered that I had been injured, that I was very likely bleeding to death, but for some reason this didn't seem to matter. The creature moved with the fluid grace I'd seen Isaac use, stopping again when he was only a yard away.

A tiny gasp escaped my lips as I looked into his face, finding myself frozen. His eyes were green, but impossibly so, the color of anti-freeze and marked with darker green striations. As I gazed into them, the world fell away. There was no doubt I would have lost myself in them had he not spoken.

"These are sacred woods you trespass in, little human," his voice was every bit as breath-taking as the rest of him. Deep and warm, like the rumble of a coming storm. Again, my stomach tried to flip into itself, and a shudder passed down my spine.

He must be Fae, I thought, I had never imagined they would be so...but with that thought, finally, came a sickening curl of fear.

"I didn't mean to...Isaac dragged...I mean, _oh god_, please forgive me."

He titled his head slightly to the side and watched me with an unreadable expression. Almost like curiosity. Would he kill me now? Eat me? Force me to dance away the rest of my life?

"_Oh god_." my voice broke as my eyes blurred with tears. "I'm sorry. I was forced to come here with-"

"What do they call you?" He interrupted, moving closer again. Involuntarily, I pulled away, but the root around my ankle tightened until I cried out in pain. I clamped my teeth together to stop the sound. He either didn't notice, or didn't care. Those eerie, absinthe-colored eyes moved over me almost like a child's. Openly curious. He studied me as if he'd never seen anything like me, but that couldn't be. He'd called me little human. He must know.

"You smell of spoiled earth," he said, right in front of me now. I trembled as he crouched down, level with me and searched my face with a frown. "Of dead things."

"I don't mean to." I squeaked, not knowing how else to respond. This close, I could smell _him,_ and it was making me dizzy. He was dark, and rich, and earthy, laced with a masculine spice and the ozone-scent of rain. I could taste him in the air and it was making my mouth water.

I imagined dragging my nails down the corded muscle of his arms. Of drawing my lips across his golden shoulder and toward his own wickedly curved mouth. Would he taste as splendid as he smelled? As he_ looked_? My thoughts were dazed and sluggish now. Vaguely I realized that this was strange, that thought like these were not normal, but I didn't care.

Suddenly, his expression changed. I forgot to breathe as his lips curled into a slight smile, devilish and beautiful, and he titled his head again. The moonlight shimmered across his eyes as he leaned toward me, making them seem to glow like his skin. His gaze flicked down to my lips then back to my own wide eyes and his wicked smile grew a tick. I was frozen in place, utterly helpless and terrified and entranced all at once. The creature paused only a moment, letting me draw a shaking breath, then leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.

As when I'd looked into his eyes, the world seemed to fall away. It lasted only a second, but somehow that was the most thrilling kiss I had ever received. The Fae man pulled back to search my expression, still very close. His scent was all I could smell, filling ever breath. I felt a blush warm my checks, like I'd stepped back into grade school. It was my first kiss all over again.

Unable to hold his frighteningly intense gaze, I stared instead at his clothes, which I hadn't noticed until now. They were all leather, I knew, but nothing from any department store. Soft and brown, they looked handmade; stitched together and laced with intricate scrollwork from his sleeveless vest to his fitted pants. He wore boots of the same design, that reached his knees, but were darker than the rest of his clothes.

He was like something out of a medieval fairytale.

"Why..." I had to swallow before my words had volume. (He'd left me breathless) "Why did you kiss me?" It was hard to meet his eyes again, but I forced myself to be strong. This was all just too strange.

"Would you like me to do it again?"

My mouth bobbed a few times, and he titled his head to regard me. (his inquisitive expression I was realizing) His attention moved from my lips to my eyes and back again patiently.

"I...um," I sighed, "Ok."

This time, his kiss was not a whisper. The tapered fingers of his right hand brushed warmly down my cheek and when his lips met mine I actually moaned. He tasted like dried apricots; sweet and delicious. I was loosing myself in him. Falling away piece by piece in a blissful moment I wished would never end. As long as he never stopped touching me.

Something tickled at the back of my mind. cold and unpleasant. I tired to block it out, but it seemed to be growning stronger. Then came pain, like needles wriggling about in my brain. The sensation was far away at first, blurred, but it slowly grew like the cold and I hissed in a breath. The Fae pulled back, frowning and I tired to make sense of what I was happening around me. Failing. His presence alone blurred my logic.

"Please." the words seemed to form themselves, breathy and tense, "Don't stop touching me."

His smile then was dark, but alluring and he leaned toward me again. He had to keep going. Had to-

"**No**!" The yell seemed to come from under water. The Fae's attention snapped to our left, drawing mine to the black-eyed vampire 10 feet away. I frowned a moment before I realized that I knew him. Not from these woods though. My world began and ended in the Fae's arms. And now he was standing; moving away from me. He was _too far_ away from me!

"Mira, you need to listen to me," the vampire spoke very calmly, like the babble of a spring. Such a funny name, Mira. I wondered who it belonged to. I felt his voice dance across my skin, severing a cord and the warmth melted away. "It's time to wake up now."

I blinked a few times, then shook my head, the hot fingers that had been clutching my brain slid away, throwing the world back into cold frightening reality.

_Please. Don't stop touching me._

Had I _really_ just fucking said that?!

Isaac moved slowly to my side as the Fae watched him. His expression had gone from enchanting to hostile in a second. For the first time, I noticed its teeth were sharp, like some sort of wolf. Had they been like that the whole time? I couldn't remember.

"How many of your kind will desecrate my forest?" he asked. His voice was now the angry crash of ocean waves against the rocks. Powerful and terrifying. "You have no right to be here, _vampire_." he spoke the word like a curse, his bright green eyes flashing dangerously.

Isaac bowed his head, and glanced my way. "I meant no disrespect, Cernnunos." At what I assumed was his name, the Fae straitened, gazing steadily at us. "We have come to collect a fugitive of my people. He fled to your domain believing we would not follow. My only wish is to take him back to our council."

The Fae said nothing but his eyes slid to me and I caught the hint of a smile. Frightened that he would do to me what he had before, I crawled backwards. He chuckled, watching me twist my way out of the root he must have loosened and scamper back to Isaac. I don't think I have or ever _will _be as relieved to see the vampire as I was just then.

"Please, great lord, will you grant us safe passage back to your border?"

"No."

Isaac actually seemed stunned. I stood behind him, shaking, clutching at the back of his shirt like a life-preserver. "But...great lord-"

"The girl," the Fae interrupted, catching my eyes again, "She is _your_ human?"

Isaac's hand slipped back to grasp my wrist as I starred, wide-eyed at the creature.

"Give her to me and you may leave this wood unharmed."

Isaac caught me when my knees buckled. His patchwork eyes had shot wide as mine now.

"You can't be serious." I said in shock. Beside me, Isaac cleared his throat, holding me tight.

"He really _can_." he said.

The creature's eyes slid between Isaac and me, glowing dimly under the light of the moon. I wanted to climb onto the vampire's back and tell him to run, but something told me this thing could catch us. And the result would be _unpleasant_.

"Of all the mortal girl's in this world, she is the most trying, great king."

What was with all these ass-kissing names? Was Isaac really that worried about this fairy? Surely a vampire could at least _match_ a Fae in power. Right? Then again, I just didn't want to think that there were creatures in this world more frightening then vampires. If my eyes grew any more _open_, I might start hiding away in my room.

"Is there no other tribute I could offer you?" Isaac asked gently.

The Fae was now completely focused on me and I could feel the soothing brush of his power across the edges of my mind. He wanted back in, but I was fighting to build a wall. There was no way in hell I would let him turn me back into the drooling idiot again.

"I will take the girl, vampire."

"You _can't_ Isaac!" I insisted, shaking in fear.

"Shut up, Mira." he hissed back. "_You_ got yourself into this mess." I couldn't even begin to argue how much that was bullshit.

The Fae seemed to be ignoring us. Well, Isaac at least. His eyes moved over me as if he were inspecting an exotic beast at the zoo. Fascinated by the animal behind the bars.

"Is there any way we could negotiate this trade?" Isaac asked suddenly, making me stiffen. He wouldn't...I wasn't foolish enough to think Isaac actually **cared** for me, but to him I was property. Something to be coveted and kept from all others. Surely he wouldn't toss me away so easily after all he'd done to keep me.

The Fae titled his head, "You are _attached_ to this human?"

It took him a moment, but Isaac nodded. "She was a prize."

"You slaughtered her dear ones." The Fae finished for him with a quick glance at the vampire. I felt my expression harden at his bluntness and chest chest tighten in a new wave of panic. How could he possibly know that? Unless he read minds or saw things as Linda had. Then again, if he were in my mind, I would know it, right? The feeling was distinct, like pressure or worms in my brain.

Was he just that powerful?

"I did." Isaac was saying.

"Yet you allowed this one to live. Why?"

Isaac stiffened a bit, then with a heavy sigh he nodded. "Because she was intriguing. Mira is..."

"Curious." the Fae murmured, yet I heard the word as if he'd whispered it in my ear. Once again, I felt the warmth of his power wrap itself around me. Fighting to break through my defenses and lull me back into the stupor he had before. I tensed, fighting the urge to succumb to his call. He was comfort and security, but I remembered my earlier words_-Don't stop touching me_-and it was enough to stay strong. No way would I go back to _that_. He seemed to feel my rejection, but it only made him smile, eyes flashing with promise. I think he was taking it as a _challenge_.

"You will remain in my wood this night, vampire." he said, turning his attention, thankfully back to Isaac. "Restraints will be provided for your criminal as well as food. Even from here I feel his destructive hunger. And _she_," I jumped, "will be returned to you by daybreak. I will decided then what is to be done with her."

I stepped around to look Isaac dead in the eyes, trying to convey the utter badness of this plan. He held my gaze, and in the black depths of his eyes, I found only fury. Then, with only a nod to the Fae, he turned and began to leave.

"Wait, Isaac!" I dashed after him, already deep in the trees, and grabbed his arm. His growl was deep and resonating, making me jump back a step in fright. My sickening fear however swallowed the startlement that came with his anger.

"Don't leave me alone with him. " I pleaded softly, fearing the Fae could hear me. "_Please_."

"This is your mess, you _foolish_ girl." I got the feeling he'd wanted to call me much worse, but was censoring himself for the Fae.

"I know. "I whimpered, "but...I've _read_ the Brothers Grimm, and fairies aren't nice to girls."

Isaac laughed, short and harsh, then shook his head. "Even if I wanted to..." he let it hang, reaching out to turn me around. I couldn't see the creature from here. Was he hiding?

"Looks like you just won yourself a date, love." he chuckled, "And just so you know, Cernunnos isn't Fae." I frowned as he kissed my temple.

"He's a **God**."

* * *

**Dun dun _duuunnnnn_!**

**If any of you are familiar with mythology, Cernunnos is very real (and my favorite Deity besides Loki) He is also known as Herne the Hunter, Concidius or, for you pagans like my mother, The Green Man. This is my favorite of his forms. (and in case you wondered the name is pronounced 'Sir-Nun-_O_se')**

**If you aren't as nerdy and into lore as me, he will be explained as Mira learns, until then, what did you think of the totally weird, over-sexed first meeting? ZOMG, I was excited. lol**

**I definitely need some feedback for this one before I post the next chapter guys. What did you think?**


	13. Stealing the Star

**Howdy all, sorry it took me a bit to post this, but this chapter was hard. Again with the thousand different versions. I couldn't decide what to reveal and what to leave for later.**

**In my impatient haste to see your reaction, I've posted a very rough copy. Most likely it will be edited in the next couple days, but until then I'm sure you'll still get the point. **

**Don't forget to send me some feedback, I've really enjoyed all of your comments and critiques so far.**

**a/n II **

**It's edited now. All mistakes I missed...well they're just gunna have to _stay_ there until I fix up this story for publication.**

* * *

The Vampire was gone then, leaving me feeling as if I might pass out. I couldn't have heard him right because it just wasn't possible. Monsters, I had accepted were real, but _gods_?! They were the fantasies of man in his desperation to find comfort in death and living. A lie to give him purpose, because if _gods _were the ones that controlled fate, our lives couldn't be meaningless.

"You fear me."

I cried out, stumbling away from his voice and clutched at my chest to keep my heart inside it. At least that answered his question. The..._being_ smiled faintly.

"You needn't worry, little one, had I wanted you dead, I would have eviscerated you by now."

Oh. Well _that_ made it better.

For a moment I was caught on the complete lack of emotion in his voice, save perhaps amusement, but then a wave of nausea hit me and the world seemed to tilt. I fell back against a tree with a groan and blinked. From this angle, I could see the dark stain slowly growing across my shirt.

My _throat_! How in the fuck had I forgotten my throat?! I slapped a hand back over the wound, sickened to find it still there and instantly my fingers were slick with blood. If Isaac were here, he could tell me the exact amount of blood a person could loose before passing out, or dying. In his absence, I assumed it was very close to the amount I'd already lost.

"Your pulse is slowing, little human, and your skin," the creature stepped forward, titling his head, though he didn't really look concerned, "You are nearly as pale as your leech."

"Am I dying?" I'm not sure why I asked, but he answered just the same.

"Yes."

I laughed, somewhat hysterically and nodded, trying to breathe normally. "Well, I'm glad you can be so honest."

"You would prefer that I lied to you?" he titled his head. For a moment, I was going to respond caustically in light of my eminent death, but the world twisted again and the ground rushed up toward my face. Closing my eyes, I awaited an impact that never came, and nearly shrieked when I found it was because the creature had caught me. I really wasn't comfortable with him so close, dying or not.

"Be still." he said searching my eyes. As his fingers lifted to brush my cheek, I found myself once again lost in his impossible gaze. Harlequin green, like back-lit absinthe. The color seemed almost liquid, swirling within his iris and-

"OW!!" I cried as pain snapped me back to focus. His fingers fell away from my throat, a tiny smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He'd distracted me with his...prettiness. My hand went to the wound but there was **nothing** left but a dull itch. I opened my mouth, lost the words in a sea of questions, and closed it again.

"You did not think I would claim you just to watch you die?" he asked. He was kneeling beside me, propping me against his thigh, which brought us incredibly close. I didn't like the way his eyes kept drifting to my mouth, or his fingers across the curve of my shoulder. No longer dizzy, I pulled away from him, crawling backward until I hit a tree and pulled myself up. He watched this, not moving to stop me, but maybe that was only because there was nowhere to go if I did try to run.

"Are you really a god?" It felt strange asking this as he stood, uncoiling like a snake. The movement was liquid and somewhat unnerving. _Nothing_ moved like that, not even Isaac.

"I am." he replied. I drew a breath and nodded, unable to look at him for long periods of time.

"And you said that you've _claimed _me?" To this he only smiled slyly and I cleared my throat. "Right, well, I'm sure you hear this all the time and all, but you really don't want me. I'm nothing special."

He chuckled at that then moved in front of me as fast as Isaac. There was something odd in the way he achieved this though. It wasn't incredible speed; more like the world slowed down around him and he'd skipped across the seconds between us.

"That is far from true, sweet Mira." The way he said my name, almost as if he savored it against his tongue. For a moment, the warmth of him closed around my skin, but with a sharp breath I managed to shake it off.

"There." he spoke, startling me, "You are able to fight me. Somehow you can pull yourself from beneath my will, as you did before with your vampire."

"No." I said, stepping away from him, "I didn't do anything. Isaac must have-"

"Your leech was nothing more than the motivation you required to fight." he said this calmly, but there was a finality in his tone that made it unquestionable. "But how is this possible?" He approached me again, backing me up to escape him with no regard for personal space. "The human mind is incapable of such strong defenses, and yet I find not a single gene in your entire body with supernatural origin."

"I honestly have no idea what your talking about." My voice shook with him so close. His scent was filling my lungs. When I licked my lips I once again remembered the wonderful taste of him and tried to ignore it. It was like my libido was set to max. Christ, what was wrong with me?

"No matter." he said "There will be time in the future for such questions, until then..."

"What was the name Isaac used?" My words tumbled out as I tried to distract him. He had that look that said he would invade my space again. The creature paused a moment, expression unreadable. "What did he call you?"

"Cernunnos." he replied flatly.

I frowned, "That's...kind of a mouthful. Do you have any others, maybe a nickname?"

"I have thousands of names, some of which can be spoken only by the trees and wind."

What an odd thing to say, and not really an answer to my question. "Do you mind if I call you _Cern_?"

His hinted smile returned and he gave a very human shrug, "It is acceptable. Yes."

My distraction was over though. He stepped toward me again and I found myself backing away. This didn't discourage the god however, and he let me back myself up against a large tree. One powerful arm braced against the bark beside my head, lodging my breath in my throat. The other lifted to brush the bloody, tangled curls of my hair, drifting to my shoulder. His gaze followed the path of his hand down my arm and to my waist.

"Stop." I said finally, trying to merge with the bark to escape him. "You can't just go around touching people and getting all in their space and claiming they're yours and-"

Cern leaned back with an amused little smile, searching my face. "As my consort, I have every right to touch you."

"Your what?" I asked and slipped to the side, ducking under his arm to start this game of backing away again. He watched me with a sort of animal patience, like he was stalking prey, and I didn't like it.

"My _consort_." he repeated, slower as if I were a child. "I believe the modern term is mistress. I have lost touch with your patterns of speech over the decades. Far too many colloquialisms. Your language has degraded since my time."

"Wait." I held up a hand, not believing what I'd just heard. "Did you just..." My head was spinning and not from blood loss. "Your _mistress_?"

He nodded once, watching me with that damn amused smile. "Yes, my mistress, paramour, inamorata, chatelaine." As he spoke he moved toward me, but I was too shocked to flee this time. "Bedmate. My_ lover_."

That snapped me out of it.

"Whoa, buddy!" I held up both hands, laughing without humor. "You have the complete _opposite_ of the right idea."

He frowned a bit, tilting his head, but perhaps it was my phrasing that confused him. Holding up a finger, I forced a tight smile.

"I don't know how it went down back in the day, but you can't just decide any random woman is your mistress. Alright? Sorry, to disappoint you, but I'm not sleeping with anyone."

"Much has changed since I slumbered. I distinctly remember _your_ sex to be docile."

Arching an indignant brow, I crossed my arms. "You must not have met alot of women."

Cern smiled then, in a way that said _oh yes he had_ and leaned back against the tree to stare at me. "You misunderstand. I did not mean it to offend you, little one. There have always been fiery women like you in the world. Untamable and wild. What I _meant_ is that your upbringing has changed. Women are no longer the subordinates of men in your society."

"Exactly." I nodded, still a bit irritated, "Which brings us back to the mistress thing. It doesn't work like that anymore."

At this, the god bowed his head, sighing and pushed off the tree. When he looked back at me his smile was gone.

"But this is not so." he replied solemnly. "_You_ were my price for the lives of your vampire and his criminal. By all rite, your body, your very _life_ is mine to do with as I please."

When I opened my mouth to yell an angry retort, he held up a hand and suddenly was right in front of me. His fingers slid to grasp my chin, lifting it so that I looked up into his eyes. He gave me a smile that might have been charming if not for my rage.

"Do not worry yourself, little one. I can be reasonable. A consort can also be a _companion_, and I am a patient god."

I was shaking again, but not in fear. My fists had tightened at my sides until I couldn't feel them anymore, and I glared up at him.

"So what, I can keep my goodies to myself_ for now_? Gee, thanks."

Cern titled his head in confusion. "Goodies?"

"Did you really want me just to sleep with me? Couldn't you find someone else, who, I don't know, actually _wants_ you?"

He was unaffected by my rudeness and traced his thumb along my jaw. "I've already told you. It was your ability that interests me. Your body is only a convenience."

_Ouch._

I pulled back, jerking my chin from his fingers and stared at the ground. What did one say to such a thing? For whatever reason, I felt that I could speak my mind to him, but with that comment, I no longer wanted to do so.

After a long moment, the god ducked his head to catch my eyes, his expression was something that might have been regret.

"I have offended you."

"Only in the literal sense." I replied, still trying to avoid his eyes. Cern sighed heavily as if getting ready to say something more, but I didn't want to hear it. "When I return to Isaac, is it only to say goodbye?"

His eyes hardened just a bit and he stood strait. This time I looked at him. "It would make sense that my consort remain at my side."

Again with the illusive answers. "So I'll just drop everything in my life and start a new one here? Is that the gist of it?"

For a moment he looked as if he would say yes, but slowly the irritation bled from his face and he sighed again. "You may return to your vampire for now," He grinned, "Unless you _wish_ to stay."

"I..I can't."

He only shrugged, "It makes no difference to me. When I have need of you I will come. Until then, however, I feel it is unwise to send you back without first claiming you."

"Claiming?" I asked nervously, "Claiming _how_, exactly?"

Without warning, the god approached and took hold of my hand, pulling me toward him. I felt his touch like fire licking across my skin and opened my mouth to scream, but there was no sound. In fact, I couldn't even draw air!

The world flashed blinding white and it suddenly felt as if my lungs were collapsing. As if every breath I'd ever taken was pulled from me and as it left I felt the absence. The hollow cold. I could see the god now, standing before me with his hand just above my chest. His face was impassive as he drew the warmth from my body and into his palm. As I watched a ball of light began to grow in his hand, and I could have sworn it was coming from _me_. Fear held me frozen in place as the world lost sense around me. He closed his fist around the light, and it was gone.

Then, Cern released me and I sank down the trunk of a tree into the grass. My vision was slow, everything followed by tracers of light, and my ears were ringing loudly. I gasped like a drowning victim and let my head roll to the side, unable to support its weight. I felt drunk, and yet indescribable.

Cern crouched down in front of me, something like pity in his eyes, and brushed the hair from my face. "You will feel disjointed, perhaps even nauseous, but do not fear, this will pass."

"Wha...what did you..."

He only smiled. "You must sleep now, little one. Return to your vampire. We will meet again soon enough."

**xXx**

I'm not really sure how I managed to stand, even less how I stayed that way. But somehow I found my way back to the cabin, half-conscious. Isaac was waiting with angry black eyes but paused when he saw me.

"Mira?"

"The light went away." I murmured, starring off into nothing as I stumbled into the cabin and he shut the door. "Shiny little star and he closed it in his fist."

"_**Unnatural**_." the hiss came from the shackled Josep in the corner, who looked at me like I'd sprouted horns. "How can she be so _empty_? It isn't right!"

But I didn't have time to wonder what he meant by that, because the lights were fading. Then, with one last shaking breath, I feinted.


	14. Puzzle of Protection

The world returned in sharp bursts of light that blinded me. For a long moment, I couldn't remember where I was, or how I'd gotten there, but then as I pushed myself up, the memories returned.

I'd nearly been killed by the vampire Josep, and now I was the property of a _god_.

What a night.

"She wakes." Isaac was sitting back in the single wooden chair, his feet propped up on the table. "And how was your slumber, sleeping beauty?"

"You're in a good mood." I ran fingers through my hair, letting them drift down to my throat, where a ragged wound should have been. The vampire smiled, jumping from his seat and pulled out his phone.

While he dialed, I slowly pulled myself to my feet. To my right there was the sound of groaning metal and a crash heading toward me. I spun around to find Josep, bound in heavy chains and reaching out toward me. His eyes were still completely black, and when he opened his mouth to growl inhumanly loud, his fangs were frighteningly long.

"Will you stop that?" Isaac appeared beside him, and yanked on the chain to pull him back. "I told you we have something waiting for you." He sighed, moving to stand next to me. "He's been like this all day. There were a few times I thought he might nab you."

"Then why was I so close to him?"

Isaac shrugged, "I was bored. And I needed something to keep him focused. He refused the girl your boyfriend sent, something about poison. Tasted fine to me though."

"Boyfriend?" I asked with a scowl. The vampire smirked, lifting the phone back to his ear.

"You caught that, huh?"

"Cern isn't my-" But he held up a finger and nodded toward his phone, so I crossed my arms and moved to the smashed window.

"So did you get them?" Isaac was saying. "And they're waiting outside the tree line?" He grinned, "What'd you tell them?" He laughed, "Cute. We're on our way."

"Where are we going?" I asked as the vampire began to undo Josep's restraints.

"Back to the hotel."

"Thank god." I sighed in relief. Isaac glanced my way and shook his head.

"I wouldn't start praising him just yet. We still don't know if he'll make it to the car without charging you again."

Great. Apparently, this whole Cern thing was going to become a running tease with Isaac. Just what I needed.

Josep didn't hesitate once the chains fell away, and Isaac had to wrap his arms around him. He managed to drag the vampire a few feet across the floor before Isaac found purchase and slowed him down.

"Hey, Mira, why don't you wait outside?"

I nodded and moved quickly out the door. Outside it was dark, the sky dotted with thousands of tiny stars. I'd never seen the sky so clear. I might have been more impressed if I weren't wondering why I'd slept through the entire day. A flash of memory took me back to the light I'd seen in Cernnunos' palm. What had he done to me? What had he taken? And Josep's words, "How can she be so empty?"

I didn't like the sound of it.

I followed Isaac and Josep at a distance. The vampires struggle against each other the entire way, but now that I was downwind of the starving beast, he seemed easier to handle. As I walked I tried to keep my thoughts on anything but Cern and what had happened last night and though it was difficult, I managed.

Somewhere along the path a rock jumped out to snag my foot and I stumbled catching myself on a tree. Before I could curse myself however something glimmering on my right hand caught my eye. Had I been wearing a ring before tonight?

"Where did you come from?" I asked softly, lifting it to inspect in the dim light. I could only make out the basic design; three bands of woven gold, one pale and one seeming almost silver, and in the center, where they came together, they formed what looked like a sun.

"Cernunnos." I decided aloud.

"You would leave without saying goodbye?"

"_Holy shit_!" I cried, spinning to find him behind me as if he'd been there the whole time. The god frowned, watching me slow my breathing. "Don't _do_ that."

"Even in this era I would think a young woman might watch her language." He replied, oblivious to that fact that he'd scared this shit out of me.

"It's also customary to announce your presence before your at someone's back, Cern."

"You are very jumpy." He said, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. I shot him a glare before straitening and holding up my hand to show him the ring. Now that he was standing so close to me, I could see it just fine, as if his body was emitting some sort of light.

"Is this yours?" I asked. His vivid green eyes flicked down to the bands of gold and back to me.

"It is yours now."

I nodded and reached to slip it from my finger, but it wouldn't budge. In fact, the more I tugged, the tighter it seemed.

"What the hell, Cern?"

The god titled his head, hands behind his back, and watched me struggle a few moment more before replying.

"It cannot be removed. Not by you" He said, cool as a fucking cucumber, "It was the only way I could be sure you would wear it."

"So you super glued it to my damn finger?"

"You have a problem with cursing." He frowned. I grit my teeth and tried not to rip out my hair.

After a deep, calming breath, I held up my hands. "Ok, I'll play along. Why do you want me to wear it."

"It is a gift, little one. What more reason should I have?"

"Are you allergic to strait answers?"

He chuckled and reached out to take my right hand, ignoring the fact that I went rigid at his touch. Still holding my hand, he slipped the ring from my finger and held it up for me to see. I scoffed, trying not to find this irritating, but didn't speak.

"It is a puzzle ring." He said, "The Celts would give them to their wives on their wedding days." He let the thing tumble into his palm and suddenly it wasn't just one ring, but 6 separate bands of gold all linked together. "The wives did not know the secret to putting them back together. It was the husband's way to deter infidelity."

I arched a brow letting him draw away to begin twisting the bands into a solid ring again. "Is this your subtle way of hinting at something, Cern?"

The god glanced back at me and took my hand again. As he slipped the ring onto my finger his expression was somewhat cold. "I have no need for subtlety."

I drew my hand back slowly, frowning and glanced in the direction that Isaac had taken Josep. Both were long gone now. "Sorry to ruin your plan here, but if I can't take it off then how-"

"I am not worried about who you choose as bedmate, Mira. You will accept me in time. The ring is for protection."

I tried not to dwell on what he'd just said, and nodded. "So what, is it going to zap anyone who tries to hurt me?"

"No, Mira." He sighed. I think I might have actually been irritating him.

"Then what-" But the god held up and finger, touching it lightly to my lips for silence. His eyes, so bright and impossible searched mine, his expression imploring.

"I do not have much time, little one." He moved in closer, "Know this. You need but to call my name and I will hear you, wherever you are."

I looked down, fighting a blush and caught sight of something handing from his belt. A pouch of black velvet and whatever was inside seemed to be glowing. Tiny shafts of white light escaped the draw string, and I thought back to the light he had stolen from me.

"Cern, what is that?" I asked motioning to the pouch. The god, lifted my chin, his free hand slipping down to cover the thing. Before I could ask again, he smiled, and the expression, so dazzling, caught me off guard.

"You leech grows restless." He said, stroking my cheek with his thumb. "You should return to him."

"But-"

"Close your eyes, Mira." He murmured, and for whatever reason, I obliged.

The scent of him filled my lungs, his heat enveloped me and then I felt the soft brush of his lips over mine and couldn't help a tiny sigh. He still tasted like apricots. Smelled like soil and rain and something else indescribable and masculine. When he pulled away, I gave in and let myself smile, opening my eyes.

And finding myself at the tree line.

"She probably got lost, or tripped over her feet." I could hear Isaac, just outside the forest, and saw the headlight of his car. "Maybe we got lucky and she crack open her head on a rock."

"Or maybe she's right here and doesn't appreciate you being such and asshole." I scowled, striding from the tree line with my arms crossed. Isaac turned with a scowl of his own. He was standing beside the car and to my surprise Sanura was with him.

The vampire smiled brightly at me and rested a hand on her hip. "I hear you've been making interesting friends." I shrugged.

"I figured my life wasn't complicated enough."

She chuckled and opened her mouth to say something else but there was a feminine cry from within the car and a loud bang. I leaned a little closer, not really sure if I wanted to see what was happening. Isaac however filled in the blanks.

"Josep's having himself a nice big meal. I wouldn't get to close."

I nodded swallowing the bile and moved to Isaac's side for what little comfort in awarded.

"So the disappearing act," he began, "That your boyfriend's work?"

"Enough with the boyfriend thing, Isaac. I might start to think you're jealous."

He laughed, rolling his eyes and leaned back against the car, oblivious to the soft female cries from inside. "So what did Daddy tell you? Anything we should know about?"

I shrugged, letting the vampire loop his arm around my shoulders. "For starters he really doesn't like _you_."

Sanura chuckled, "No surprise there."

"Other than that…" I sighed, "He's not so big with the strait answers. And he just kind popped me over here and disappeared."

"Aw," Isaac shook me gently, ruffling my hair, "Are you upset you didn't get a goodbye kiss."

I pulled away from him while Sanura gave a heavy sigh. "No." I replied, turning to look him dead in the eyes, "I'm upset it was such a quick one."

The vampire lost his smile, which of course made me grin and stepped away from the car just as the door opened. My eyes zeroed instantly on the pale, bloody arm that fell out to dangle off the seat. I didn't have the stomach to look at the rest of the body. Instead I forced myself to focus on the young man unfolding from the car.

No longer gaunt and sickly looking, Josep straitened the stained rags of his shirt, and cracked his neck to the side. When he opened his eyes, the black began to recede until his iris became a dark chocolaty brown, flecked with copper.

I'd been right, he was handsome when he wasn't skeleton-thin and trying to kill me. As I stared, he flicked the golden blonde hair from his eyes and winked at me before turning to Isaac. He looked too young to be a vampire, barely older than me, if that when he'd been turned, but undoubtedly gorgeous. I wondered if all vampires looked for beauty when they made others of their kind. Was it a requirement, or simply an effect of the change? I would have to ask Isaac about it sometime.

"Do you feel better?" Isaac asked, he seemed somewhat sullen now. Josep grinned with perfect human teeth and nodded.

"I'll feel more so when I'm in clean clothing again."

Sanura rounded the car with a tiny squeal and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the side of his neck. For a moment, he looked startled, but recovered quickly and returned the hug.

"We will have time to catch up later, dearest. For now we have bodies to dispose of and a human to feed." I stiffened when his gaze snapped to me, "After all, she hasn't eaten in two days.

I didn't like the way he was looking at me, but he was right. I was starving and the idea of riding back to the hotel with a load of corpses didn't sit too well with me.

"By all means." Isaac said softly, his arms slipping around my waist. It struck me as protective, but I didn't have time to wonder about it, because Josep was already climbing back into the car followed by Sanura. The vampire squeezed me gently and nodded toward the front seats. "You're sitting next to me."

"No problem." I sighed.

This would be a long drive.

* * *

**I'd like to start by saying thanks to everyone who has read this so far and that I've really enjoyed your reviews and critiques. However, I must admit that the character of Cernunnos has received mixed reviews.**

**Now, that is fine, I like hearing both sides, but I need to stress that to those of you who know who and what he is, try not to look at him as the deity. This character is simply that, a **_**character**_**. His personality, appearance, and actions are completely my own and have nothing to do with the deity as he is worshiped. I used this particular god because he represents so many things and has so many "jobs" that I could use to build my own character from.**

**I want you to know that there is not going to be a single part of his character that hasn't been tweaked by me. This character represents the Deity in name and "jobs" ALONE. He is not a representation of my religious views or anyone else's. He is a completely fabricated take on a deity that I have always found fascinating, and nothing more.**

**And now that we've covered that, what do you think so far? Thoughts? Dislikes? Leave me some feedback.**

**-Calamity-**


	15. Shopping

Isaac had called Colette with news that we had Josep in custody, but that we wouldn't be returning right away. While she hadn't liked it, Isaac had refused to take the vampire strait back to his death, and after much debate the bitch vampire had consented.

I couldn't even begin to understand Isaac's reasoning. He was Josep's friend, I knew that much, but to risk the man running away seemed stupid even to me. But as the days passed and the criminal didn't flee, I began to wonder.

Isaac and Sanura would leave for hours, hunting and enjoying the sights, leaving Josep by himself. Yet he didn't even try to run. Was he crazy? Did he really want them to end his life? They all acted as if this were some sort of vacation. As if the moment we got back on our plane it wouldn't be heading to his death.

The more I wondered, the more frustrated I became and it wasn't long before I was watching him. He noticed this of course, often winking at me or offering a quick smile when I was caught, and it didn't take me long to realize that he wasn't like the other vampires I had met. In fact he seemed almost _human_.

Josep was polite, and the few times I'd caught him eating, he'd made sure to disorient his prey enough that they didn't feel much pain. Unlike Isaac and Sanura, he didn't play with his food. He seemed almost gentle with them, _considerate_, and for whatever reason it bothered me.

This man, this _vampire_, was going to die. He was charming and sometimes even sweet, though often quiet, and we were going to take him back to Colette to murder him. I don't know why I began to care so much, but as time passed, I found myself feeling almost guilty over it.

Not once after the night we'd met had he tried to hurt me. He hadn't so much as tried to corner me or make me uncomfortable. In fact, when Sanura had decided that the lot of us needed to go shopping, (Isaac had refused to join in) he'd offered me suggestions and showered me with compliments.

"Not that one." He pulled the dress from my hands and placed it back on the rack. I arched a brow.

"But Sanura said-"

"Which is exactly why you should avoid it. Have you seen what she wears? It's like she walked off the set of some rap music video."

"I can hear you, jackass." The vampire murmured, not taking her eyes off the slinky maroon dress she was holding. Josep smiled in his charmingly boyish way and nodded toward it.

"See what I mean?"

I covered a giggle with the back of my hand and let him walk me over to another rack. Sanura tossed the dress into her basket and gave him a tight smile. "You're just jealous you can't pull it off."

"True." He sighed dramatically and nudged me, pulling a gown from its hanger to hold in front of himself, "So what do you think, is this me?"

I laughed, "Lovely. It'll bring out your eyes."

"Don't encourage him, Mira."

Giggling, I went back to searching through the racks. Josep made a noise at the back of his throat and pulled out a bright silky shirt. It draped down in the bust and shimmered when the light hit it. Glancing my way, he titled his head.

"Turn, please." He said and I raised my brows, but complied. The vampire held up the garment, looking me over then returned it to the rack. "You're too pale for this color." I blushed and began to turn away but he caught my arm and held me in place. "I don't mean to offend you. Look at _me, _I'm practically an albino." The corner of his mouth lifted in a sly smile and he titled his head to look me over again. "It suits you though."

I mumbled a thank you and went back to searching the clothes until he returned with an identical top in a dark blue and held it up to me.

"This however is wonderful." I nodded, offering a quick smile and he disappeared for a moment to hand it off to Sanura who '_hmm_'ed her approval. When he returned, I couldn't bring myself to look at him and focused instead on the clothing in front of me. Josep began to do the same, pulling things out here and there, and returning them.

"You know, you have the shyest little smile." he said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the clothes, "It's adorable."

My blush burned my cheeks and I struggled to come up with a reply. Thankfully Sanura saved me by looping her arm with his and nodding toward the register across the store.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes." I said, unable to stop myself and Josep smirked. Without a word he looped his arm through mine and we all began to walk toward the check out.

Halfway there, Josep pulled us all to a stop and turned to Sanura. "Give me your credit card."

"Um, suck my cock."

He seemed taken aback for a moment then chuckled. "Present it."

"What happened to yours?" The vampire asked, crossing her arms. I slid my arm from his, to watch them, fighting my smile.

"Colette wiped my accounts."

"Why?" I asked. He laughed, giving me a questioning look.

"Well, I assume it's because she plans to kill me."

My smile melted instantly and I looked down at my feet, feeling a little sick. "Oh," was all I managed before Sanura gave a heavy sigh to cover the silence.

"Whatever, I'm still not handing you shit. Do you know when the last time I let a man buy me anything was?"

"Just give me the damn card, woman. This could be my last chance to seem manly."

"Buying dresses?" she smirked.

They carried on a few minutes longer before Sanura finally consented and Josep bought the clothing from the eyelash fluttering cashier who obviously wanted to get his number despite the fact that Sanura clung to his arm. I remained quiet behind them and followed slowly back to her car.

Was this a mask? Had Josep simply perfected the art of seeming human? Was he really a terrible demon when I wasn't there to observe? It was possible, but even Isaac dropped his character around me. Granted he wasn't bothered by whether I liked him or not, but he still at least attempted to seem like a person, and the effort to hold that mask often slipped, but Josep's never did. This made me realize that as stupid as it seemed and as little as I knew him, I didn't want the vampire to die. It just didn't seem right. Of all the monsters out there, why did it have to be this one?

"You alright back there, darlin'?" I shook from my thoughts to find Josep watching me from the passenger seat. I forced myself to smile and shrugged.

"Just tired I guess." He nodded, not looking convinced, and traded a glance with Sanura who eyed me from the rearview. When he'd turned back around and flipped on the radio, I let the smile fall and leaned my head against the window. Mood officially killed, I remained silent the rest of the drive back to the hotel.

Isaac had been waiting in the hotel room with a pretty girl who flashed a bleached smile at all of us and sat too close to him on the couch. When he saw us, the vampire jumped to his feet and proclaimed that we all need to go out tonight.

"Somewhere fancy." He said, "A formal dress sort of place. It's been too long since I've done that."

The girl stood from the couch, taking his arm and trying to gain back his attention. "There's this great place down at the quarter. But I think you need a reservation to get in and it's always booked. Nevermind. We 'probly can't get in anyway."

I blinked a few times wondering if he went after the dumb ones because it was so easy, then shook my head. "Let me know what you decide."

I felt eyes on me all the way to the bedroom, but didn't really care. I needed to be alone for a moment and recollect myself. Why was I so choked up over a vampire anyway? What the hell did it matter if he lived or died? One less monster in the world, right? And yet there was a knot growing in my throat as I made it to the bathroom and locked the door.

I liked Josep, damnit. We hadn't gotten off to a fantastic start, but everything after was just fine. He was easy to talk to, even if he embarrassed me with his flirting. I could live with that however, because Isaac did the same, (though he was shameless with his advances and Josep seemed to be a gentleman.) I jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" I called, taking a deep breath.

"Open the door, Mira." Isaac's irritated voice drifted through the door.

"Ugghhh!" I groaned, "Fuck off."

The handle spun and gave a loud metal grind before snapping and the vampire entered with a frown, closing it behind him.

"See, now I have to pay for that." He hoped up onto the counter between the sinks and leaned back against the mirror. "So, what's up? Why are you moping?"

"Why, do you actually care?"

"Curiosity and no, not really." He banged his head lightly against the mirror and sighed. "But if that girl says another word I'm going to rip out her tongue."

"Her voice is rather grating." I agreed, sliding down the wall and hugging my knees. Isaac noted this with an arched eyebrow and titled his head.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Why didn't you eat her?" I hedged. He rolled his eyes.

"My eyes were too big for my stomach. Her friend's in the back room. Stop trying to distract me." He nudged my knee with the toe of his boot.

"Are we really going to take Josep back to Colette?" I asked. He frowned, apparently not expectly that one at all.

"If we want to keep our skins, yes."

I let my eyes fall to the counter and scowled. "It isn't right Isaac. He didn't do anything wrong. Even Colette knows that."

"It doesn't matter." He said jumping off the counter to crouch down beside me and take a gentle hold of my chin. "Is there something I should know?"

I shook his hold and shot him a glare. "I just think it's fucked up, is all."

The vampire frowned a moment before understanding brightened his expression and he let out a short laugh. "You _like_ him." He said in disbelief, shaking his head. "Aw, Mira that's cute."

"Go away." I sighed tiredly, rolling my eyes.

"Then what?"

"I _told_ you what." I snapped, hugging my leg tighter. "I mean, for shit's sake, Isaac, he's your friend, isn't he? How can you just sit by and let this happen? No, How can you _make_ it happen?"

The vampire stood, pulling me up with him, "Because it's my job, Mira. Whether I like it or not, I'm just as bound by our laws as he is."

"Your laws are stupid." I grumbled. Isaac chuckled, giving a nod.

"Agreed. But you know what? You moping around and reminding him what he's about to face isn't helping anyone. So either get over it and pretend to."

I nodded slowly, hanging my head, then glanced back up at him. "I know it's weird, but can I have a hug? I'm feeling really down right now."

"Eww, no." He frowned, "Go get one from your crush out there."

As he opened the door for us to return to the living room, I groaned. "_Ugghh_. Why can't you get hit by a car or spontaneously combust?"

He grinned and patted me on the top of the head. "Because you aren't that lucky."

When we returned Sanura was chatting quietly with Josep and the girl who might have been dinner was looking irritated.

"What took you so long?" She asked, arms crossed. I answered for him snidely.

"Keep your skirt on, Barbie, he's my brother."

"Oh." She said then after a moment frowned, "Wait, hey!"

"Be nice Mira." Isaac warned, moving to slip his arm around the girl.

"Sorry, guess I'm just feeling threatened by the thought of another woman in his life. He really likes you."

"Really?" She beamed while Isaac narrowed his eyes at me over her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. There's a real connection there. Most girls are just after him for his money."

"That terrible." She said, but the glance around his apartment said she'd already known he was banking and _really_ liked that.

"Why don't you go get changed, Mira?" Isaac asked, fighting his scowl. I shrugged and Sanura grabbed the bags from the table, motioning toward her room. Josep followed us, closing the door behind him. I kneaded the hard knotting of muscle on the back of my neck and sighed wearily.

"So, formal, is it?"

Sanura glanced over my shoulder and as I turned to look at Josep, his arms circled around me. Suddenly, I couldn't move, too shocked, while Sanura stared at the carpet. The vampire holding me gave a faint smile against my hair, squeezing gently.

"Um…I'm lost." I murmured, though my gut told me that my conversation with Isaac hadn't been quiet enough. Josep laughed softly into my hair and pulled back to search my expression.

"Buck up, munchkin." He said softly. "No more sulking, alright?"

I shook my head and pulled away from him. "But you're going to die."

"_Don't_ Mira." Sanura said, finally meeting my eyes, but Josep held up a hand.

"Not tonight." I gave a humorless laugh and glared at the floor until he lifted my chin. "Hey now. Are you really going to ruin my last nights for me?"

After a moment where I felt the beginnings of tears, I shook my head.

"Good, then let's get dressed, and ditch that obnoxious girl."

Sanura laughed softly and dug into the bag, before tossing me a wad of material. "Amen."


	16. Realization

My good mood didn't last. The more he smiled, the more he joked with me, the worse I felt. Josep was too bright, too sweet. Act or not, I pitied him and now he knew it. Our diner had been long, and surprisingly enjoyable, despite the girl. Once when she'd left the table, he'd let his head thump down beside his plate. I smirked, resting my chin in my palm and asked if everything was alright, only to receive a soft animal growl.

Even Sanura's company had been tolerable during this trip, but I think that might have been only because Josep served as such a great buffer. Would she still treat me this way once he was gone? My mood was once again sour at the thought.

Isaac had gone to sleep with the girl, saving her for morning, he'd said, while Sanura had remained at the restaurant with our waiter, who she'd been flirting with shamelessly all night. I assumed he too was now on the menu, and tried not to think about either human too much.

"There's something on your mind." Josep said. He was pouring himself a drink from the mini bar in the living room. I didn't bother being surprised that he'd known I was there. If Isaac could hear the heartbeat of the driver in front of him on a busy highway, then Josep could hear me stumbling down the hall.

"Why don't you run?" I asked from the doorway. The vampire paused a moment before turning toward me. Whatever he'd thought I wanted to say, it hadn't been that. For a long time he only stared at me, as if trying to see into my head. Searching for a lie or something similar, but I moved forward, wringing my hands and feeling nearly sick.

"You aren't being held down. No one's watching you. If you wanted, you could just slip out the door and disappear so why the hell don't you?" I scowled, "Do you _want_ to die?"

He laughed softly and sank down onto the couch, motioning for me to join him. "If I told you I did, would you believe me?"

"No." I sat back on my knees beside him, "No creature wants to die, no matter how fearless they are."

"And you know this how?"

"It's human nature to fear death." I replied solemnly. "And I know that you don't consider yourselves human anymore, but you were once."

"Amhlaoibh wanted to die." Josep had lost his smile now and was searching my face for reaction. I sighed and shook my head.

"No one wants to-"

"He _begged_ me." He cut me off vehemently, setting down his glass. "He wept when I refused and pleaded for days. When I would not, he attacked me, hoping that in defending myself I would do the deed."

"Ok." I held up my hands, not liking the darkening of color in his eyes. Josep, realizing that he'd been on edge slid to the arm of the couch, just out of reach and nodded. "But…he was old right? Old enough to have lost all humanity maybe?"

"And I am not?" Josep laughed without humor. "You contradict yourself. You're sweet, little human, but incredibly naive. Why is the thought of my dying so distasteful to you?"

"It's not distasteful." I snapped, standing up and pacing. "It's sickening. He _made_ you do it. Isaac knows it and so does Colette and yet they're all going to just let this happen."

"You do not understand our laws."

"That's because they don't make any fucking sense!" I cried, throwing up my hands. "I mean Christ, you didn't do anything wrong! Why am I the only one willing to say that?"

Josep watched me a long moment, then leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Do you know what my favorite thing to eat is?"

"Oh, you're going to shock me now." I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, young virgins?"

"Children." He corrected, meeting my eyes. His expression told me it was no lie and I went still. "Preferably younger than 10, before the pollutants of age and diet could alter their taste. There is a purity to children that just makes them…" he smiled wicked and dashing, "_sweeter_."

I shook my head, swallowing. "But you're a vampire, you've said it yourself, there's very little human left in you."

"And that erases the horrors of what I've done?" he scoffed, "A single child is never enough, Mira. They're small, not as much blood. I would finish two a night, three if I wanted to be completely full."

"That has nothing to do with-"

"It has everything to do with it." He snapped, standing up. I jumped away, startled and sucked back a gasp when he grabbed my arms with steel-hard fingers. "What good would I bring to the world? Why don't you realize that my death is an improvement? I am a _monster_ and you have the audacity to defend me? What kind of person does that make _you_?"

My mouth bobbed in my search for a suitable reply, but nothing came. Instead I wondered what I was thinking. Why_ did_ this affect me so strongly? Why did I care about the life of a vampire?

"And if I ran, would you join me?" he asked, grabbing my chin when I tried to look away. "Would you lure my prey from the playgrounds? Help me bury their tiny bodies, knowing the mothers would spend the rest of their lives agonizing over their lost children?"

"N..No. I just-"

"Just _what_, Mira?" he tightened his grip making me groan, "Did you decide to ignore what we are? Do you not remember what Isaac did to your friends?"

When I blinked through tears he pushed away from me, dragging a hand through his hair. "Isaac has told me what you think of us. Of all subhuman creatures. How you berate him for his heartlessness. What has changed?"

What _had_ happened to me? My world had been so black and white and now what? I was defending murderers? Was there something wrong with me? Josep sank back down onto the couch with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes.

"Perhaps the god should consider returning your soul before you become like all the other beasts."

"Excuse me?" I frowned. The vampire looked back over at me and arched a brow. "What the hell do you mean by that? I still have a soul, I'm a human being."

Josep laughed and sat strait, shaking his head. "The night you returned from the woods, do you know what I felt when you walked through that door?" I shook my head, "_Nothing_. You felt like one of us, hollowed and cold, and yet you were still alive. A vampire cannot survive with his humanity intact. Without the ability to kill without remorse, we would not survive, but we are _dead_. Unlike you our bodies can exist without the soul. By all right, you should have shriveled up and wasted away and yet here you stand, even more vibrant than you were before." He titled his head, running his eyes down my body and back, "What did he replace it with, I wonder, to make you glow the way you do?"

"I don't…he didn't..." but the words trailed off and I stared at the carpet. The white light, had that really been my soul? It sounded ridicules. Until now the idea that a soul existed at all was debatable, but Cernunnos had taken _something_. And I'd felt empty that night, before nausea and exhaustion had forced me to sleep. Incomplete and cold. Was I less than human now? Was I no better than the monsters?

"You didn't know?" Josep asked softly, frowning when I glanced up at him. I shook my head, which was suddenly spinning along with the room. The pouch on Cern's belt had glimmered like that light. Was it? Did the bastard wear my humanity beside his skinning knife?

Josep caught me before I crumpled to the floor and carried me back to the couch. I couldn't breathe anymore, couldn't think beyond what I'd just learned. I was a monster. I was a terrible, heartless beast, no better than Isaac or the thing that had slaughtered my parents. Would I hurt others now? Kill them? If so, would I care?

"What did you do?" Isaac's voice floated over from the doorway and Josep held up his hands.

"Nothing, she just collapsed." He said, "Check her if you don't believe me."

I felt the cool metal of Isaac's rings on the back of my neck and shuddered when he slid me onto his lap. His eyes scanned quickly across my throat and arms then rested on my eyes with something like concern.

"What happened?" he asked briskly. When I only stared at him, the vampire shook me and repeated the question with a growl. I hiccupped a sob and shook my head.

"I'm a monster, Isaac." I said softly, fighting back tears. "He **made** me a_ monster_."

The vampire glanced up at Josep who gave a quick explanation, then blinked a few times absorbing it. I sniffled and broke into quiet sobs, burying my face in his shirt, while the vampire rocked me. When my sobbing grew in volume however he whacked the top of my head and clucked his tongue.

"Stop it." He snapped, though his tone was gentle. I glared up at him, unable to summon the energy to be angry, and shook my head.

"But, he…he took my _soul_, Isaac! What if I start hurting people? I don't want to be a monster."

He rolled his eyes and had the gall to laugh at me. Beside me, Josep had joined in and was shaking his head. Were they pleased? Now that I was as depraved as them, did they think this funny?

"Listen to what you're saying." Isaac said finally, still smiling. He shifted me in his lap to brush the hair from my face and wipe away my tears. "Would a _monster_ cry like this?"

I paused a moment, but couldn't answer. If I didn't have a soul, I had to be evil, right? If that was so, then why was I crying? Why was the idea of taking another's life so very sickening?

"He took it, Mira. I can't lie to you about that, but he replaced it with…something else." Isaac kissed my forehead, "Whatever he did, it didn't change you, not in that respect anyway. You're still silly, and impulsive, and quick as ever to jump to conclusions."

"But what if-"

"Hush." He said softly, leaning back and letting me rest my head on his shoulder to think. "You're still you. If anything, he could have made you less annoying."

"You could be less of a prick." I replied half-heartedly, sniffling away the last of my tears. He laughed.

"See? Same old you."

I smiled to myself and closed my eyes a moment, letting myself calm down. Everything was ok. While I still didn't know exactly what Cernnunos had done to me, I was still myself. At least for now. And then I realized something else. Something a little more unnerving and sat up to frown at the vampire.

"Isaac?"

"Mhmm?"

"What are you doing?"

He arched a brow. "Stopping your breakdown?"

"No, I mean…you're, like_ comforting_ me. Why?"

Still standing in front of the couch Josep nodded, his expression confused and somewhat severe. "I thought I was the only one who'd noticed."

For a moment, Isaac only frowned, eyes going distant. He opened his mouth, thought a moment and closed it again, then slipped his arms under me and lifted me over onto the empty couch cushion beside him, jumping to his feet.

"Well, shit." He said, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes. "This is just…_awkward_."

I fought a smile, and raised both brows at him. Josep socked his arm.

"Well _I_ think it's cute."

"Fuck you." Isaac snapped back, though it was halfhearted. He lit his smoke and took a deep inhale, patchwork eyes moving from me to the floor and back again. "Excuse me, I have to go…I don't know, do something horrible."

"I'll join you. We can all hold hands and sing _Kum Bay Ya_." Josep grinned. "Maybe after we'll go for ice crème."

"Fuck. You." Isaac grit out and spun to leave the room faster than I could follow. Giving me a wink, Josep took off after him and I was left alone to think about what had just happened. Isaac had held me, rocked me, _kissed my hair_, and told me everything would be alright. Had I just stepped into the twilight zone?

This had been an interesting night.

* * *

**I've been a writing _fool_ today. Hope you like the three new chapters. Leave me some comments about what you enjoyed. What pissed you off. Anything really. I feed on your comments, they really help to inspire me and keep me on course.**


	17. Dream Walking

**And now it's time for a little vague, confusing, and violent fun. **

**This chapter is a bit longer than normal, but I ask that you all read the note at the end. Which is **_**also**_** long, but important.**

**Thanx.**

* * *

It hadn't been hard to fall asleep that night. The exhaustion of crying had sucked the energy right out of me and I was unconscious the moment my head hit the pillow.

I don't remember the last time my dreams had been so vivid.

The house I was walking through was old and reminded me of Isaac's manor. The walls were covered in atrocious wallpaper that peeled at the edges, missing in some places completely and revealing the water-stained walls beneath. When I reached out to touch them, the feeling couldn't have been more real.

I moved slowly down the dark hallway, which now seemed to stretch into eternity behind me. There was a door before me, far off and getting closer. It was made of old polished cheery wood and carved into intricate patterns. A forest scene, I realized as I gazed at it. Something in the back of my mind told me that behind this door was danger, but this was a dream. Nothing could hurt me in dreams, not really. And there was something there, just beyond the wood that called to me. I could feel it, humming just beneath my skin.

My fingers brushed down the carved stag, standing at the center of the forest and surrounded by animals. Something about him whispered royalty, or something similar. All I knew was that the animals looked to the stag with fear and reverence. He was there lord. Because this was my dream, I accepted this knowledge to be true and grasped the doorknob.

When the light beyond this beautiful door faded enough that I could see, I rubbed at my eyes and took a slow breath. It seemed as if all the air had been torn from my lungs with the opening of the door. Unpleasant, but not alarming, as I was safe in my own head for now. Then I stepped inside this…room and realized where the light had come from, as it faded to a soft ebbing glow.

"Cern." I was not surprised by this. I saw everyone in dreams. I also wasn't complaining about the vividness of this particular chimera, seeing as how he looked real enough to touch. In my own head I could acknowledge his attractiveness without repercussions.

His smile was slow, and far too sensual, but I returned it. This was my brain after all.

"How do you fair, little one?"

"Shouldn't you already know?" I asked raising a brow. The room around me had become a sitting room of some kind. Rather than chairs, however, the floor was made of one giant cushion, and gold and crimson pillows had been tossed generously about. "I mean, _you're_ the god."

His impossibly green eyes tracked me across the room where I flopped down onto a thick pile of cushions and crossed my legs. That smile never left his face, and despite its wolfishness, I felt no fear.

"You are playful tonight. Is there occasion?" The god spoke like a curl of smoke, winding gently around me, and I leaned back into what was suddenly his arm. He pulled me close, laying my back against his chest and traced the line of my sleeping capri's.

"Well, Cern, I'm just comfortable, I guess. You're in _my_ head after all."

He chuckled, stroking my hair from my cheek and trailing his fingers down the column of my throat.

"I would have thought such a thing would upset you."

For a moment, I paused, enjoying the feel of his warm fingers the way I never could outside of my own mind. "Normally, yeah. But you're a dream Cern. You can't hurt me in my own mind."

"If that is what you choose to believe." He replied softly, into my hair. Frowning I pulled from his grip and turned to the god.

"What does that mean?"

Cernnunos sighed and sat back in his place in the cushions. "This is no dream, Mira."

"Oh yeah?" I laughed.

He nodded, "You are dreaming, in the sense that you body now rests, but these are not the images conjured by your subconscious." Like the dawn, his smile returned to distract me. "I have called, and you answered. You came to me."

"I opened a door." I said, still frowning. Cern however, reached out to stroke my cheek with a patient smile.

"Yes, and now I may find you wherever you go. Through your dreams I can visit you without leaving Windsor." When I didn't reply his smile faded slightly. "This displeases you."

"I'm adjusting." I said shortly and drew away from him to pace. The cushioned floor made walking somewhat of a hassle, but the second time I tripped the floor became level and made of a dark polished wood. I shot him a glance, only to acknowledge that he'd helped before pacing again.

He was in my brain. I was in my brain, and awake and this place was…also in my brain. I'd say it was impossible if I weren't the victim of a werewolf, roommate of a vampire, and current consort to a God. It all sounded like a badly written soap opera.

Instead of exploding like I so badly wanted to and possibly incurring some unnecessary wrath, I took a deep breath and held up my hands.

"OK. So this," I motioned around us, "this is all a dream?" Cern nodded and stood in a single fluid motion, coming to stand near me. "And you make a habit of walking through dreams, do you?"

"Habit is not the word I would-"

"Enough with the cock-eyed answers, Cernnunos. For _once_ could you just…" I trialed off when I saw the way he was looking at me. It wasn't anger or even irritation, and yet I drew away, clamping my lips together. He looked at me like I was an errant child. A toddler throwing a tantrum, and it made me feel foolish.

"Have you finished?" He asked levelly, nailing down that terrible feeling that_ I_ was being ridicules. Clamping my jaw, I nodded and he glanced away toward one of the walls as if he could see through it.

"There are those I visit within their dreams. Those that pray to me."

"I'm not praying to you, Cern."

He smiled to himself and turned from me to gaze at the walls of our sitting room. As if made of smoke, the room dissipated and changed into a grassy field. No. Not a field. The ground was lined with gray stones, all placed in neat little rows. Here and there a statue stood tall in draping robes to gaze down at the stones like there guardians.

This was a graveyard.

"What's going on?" I asked wrapping my arms around myself and trying not to feel prematurely threatened.

"I would like to show you another, like yourself. One who dreams with the prayer that she will see me every night."

I blinked, before the thought fully processed and then scoffed, shaking my head. "I really don't want to meet any of your other "Consorts" I said the word with air quotes and sighed heavily. "That just sounds awkward."

Cernnunos laughed then, taking my hand. His fingers were warm and oddly soft. I still expected his skin to be course, and find myself surprised each time it was not. "She is not my lover, Mira. This girl is _Kine_. My follower. She prays to me to take her sorrow."

"Um…ok." I really didn't know what to make of this. Any of it. The whole situation seemed ridicules and I wanted very much to wake up and find it was all truly dream. How could any of this be real? But, for now, it couldn't hurt to go along with dream-Cern. "Why exactly are you showing me this?"

His vivid green eyes slid to watch me from the side as we walked and his smile was somewhat devious.

"I wish to share many things with you, little one. It would be easier than explaining it all."

"I guess so." I shrugged and we came to a stop.

A few yards away I saw a lovely statue that draped over a gravestone. The carved woman had her head bowed, and arms clinging to the stone desperately. As we stepped closer however, the statue moved, it's long flowing gray dress catching the light wind and fluttering over her pale legs.

"My lord?" the woman asked, sitting up and whipping tears from her face. She was a pretty thing (no surprise there) with long red hair that draped down her back in soft curls. I thought of my own dark curls, too wild to ever look as elegant as hers and frowned at Cern.

"So, what are you cultivating followers now?"

"It does not hurt to replenish my herd now and again."

_Herd_? "Don't you mean flock?" I asked scowling. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately; hopefully it wouldn't bring premature wrinkles. "How can you call her that to her face anyway?"

He only smiled at the girl, whose face was slowly brightening, "She hears only what I wish her to." And with that he released my hand.

The God approached the girl with a reserved smile. His manor seemed to change with each step. The playful creature that courted me vanished and when the girl stood to meet him, she threw her arms around him and began to cry.

"I thought I was going insane!" She sobbed as he sat down on a stone bench that had appeared beside the graves. The girl slid to the floor, laying her head in his lap. I watched from the headstone beside them as Cern soothed her and petted her hair.

"Did you doubt me, Amanda?" His voice was strange and deep, like many tones dancing together into one. The woman shook her head and sniffed.

"No! No it's just that…" But as he gazed down at her, the tears returned. Cernnunos hushed her, leaning down to whisper something into her ear that made her nod solemnly and turn back to her gravestone. Now that I'd approached them, I could read it.

Michael Aaron Voesner, 2002 – 2009. There was no inscription, or quoted verse from the bible. Just his name and the date, but I could understand. What could you really say about a child so young that was taken from the world? What words made it better? Feeling a bit ill, I followed Cern who was standing and leaving the woman to a dream of her lost son. This had been brief and pointless and now my anger at him was returning doubled.

"So, you just draw these people in, like a trap-door spider." I crossed my arms.

"Amanda was lost and desperate for the guidance of a being that no longer cared. Her God abandoned her, but now she has me."

"Fantastic. And did you lure her in with pretty lies and promises?"

"I never lied to her Mira. To any of them. It does not suit me." That shut me up and the god drew a slow breath before taking my hand and walking down through the graveyard toward one of the mausoleums.

After we reached the door, I pulled him to a stop. "Then what_ did_ you do Cern? How did you get a Catholic woman to pray to a pagan god?"

His smile was wistful as he glanced over my shoulder and back to the smiling Amanda. "I simply pointed out the obvious truths. Her god took her child and still demanded her trust. Her blind _faith_ that he existed and would help."

"And what did you give her?"

He smiled. "Proof."

With that he opened the mausoleum door and gently pushed me inside. Instead of marble I found asphalt. The graveyard had become a dimly lit alleyway.

"What are we doing, Cern. I don't need to see the poor people you've convinced to worship you." I laughed without humor, "In fact I would rather spend time with Isaac. Now what does _that_ tell you?"

When Cern stepped to my right, his smile had vanished and in its place was a severe and chilling expression. "That you are foolish."

"Excuse me?" I snapped, crossing my arms. "Well, from what I can tell he's better than you. I know what you've done to me. I know you took my soul, or whatever, and I really don't appreciate that buddy. And you know what? While you're sitting back wearing it on you damn **belt** and coaxing people into your religion, Isaac was_ comforting_ me." I laughed, "Not that I'm too sure about it, I mean, it's sort of strange, but from what I can tell, he likes me more than you do so-"

"Be quiet, Mira." Cern said calmly and I think my fingers began to pop with the pressure of my closing fists. "That is precisely why we've come here. You, foolish girl, are beginning to trust that leach and his friends. You are letting down you guard and that is dangerous." The god shook his head and gazed down the alley toward the street, "Think what you will of me, there is time yet to prove you wrong, but the vampire is no friend to you."

"Maybe you didn't hear me, Cern. You took my _**soul**_. If it wasn't for Isaac…I don't know what I'd be doing now. Killing myself maybe. The point is-"

"He lied to you."

Now I pinched the bridge of my nose and gave a heavy sigh. "Is that so?"

"It is true that I've stripped you of that bit of mortal waste, and you have every right to hate me now for it. You do not understand what it is I have done for you, and now is not the time to explain, but the vampire told you it had not changed you."

"Ok, first off, I'm curious as to how you know this, but we'll discuss that part later. For now, what the hell are you saying?"

"He knows that you are altered. That you will eventually harden as the others do, but this process works only as fast as you allow it." He paused, glancing back to me, "To an extent. You have a surprisingly strong will, Mira. You will keep your humanity for a long while yet."

My mouth opened and closed as a thousand different responses flew through my head. I was bombarded with the urges to cry and attack him and argue all at once. Instead, unable to really cope with it at the moment, I decided to stick with the argument at hand.

"You aren't really building you case here. Form where I sit, that still leaves Isaac at the top."

Cern turned to take my hands and gazed at me with what seemed like pity. "He is playing a role for you, Mira. Nothing more. He has convinced you that he grows fond of you, but make no mistake, without my protection, he would rid himself of you without regret."

"That makes no sense, Cern." I jerked away from him, rubbing my wrists where he'd held them too tight. "Then why does he act so put out when he realizes he's being nice to me?"

"Would you not be suspicious if he simply became your friend? He knows you, Mira. This is not the first time he has cultivated you trust. Have you not noticed that he feeds while away from you now? Out of sight, out of mind, is that not a saying amongst you humans? If you are not reminded of the horror of his existence, you begin to trust him again."

"I'm done talking to you now Cern." I said, teeth grit in anger. "I'd like to go back to my previously scheduled dreams thank you."

"I have brought you here to remind you what he is." Cernnunos said as if I hadn't spoken. He turned back to the mouth of the alley and drew back toward the wall, arm outstretched to herd me in the same direction. "This, Mira, is no dream. But do not fear, to them, we are not visible."

"What are you-?"

But something at the mouth of the alley crashed and I went silent, thoughtlessly curling against Cern. There was the sound of heels clicking swiftly against the ground and then a young woman was in the alley. When she realized it lead to the brick wall of a building, she spun, searching frantically for another direction to go.

Her hair was a mess, wild and tangled. It had been pinned up I could see, but now fell from the jewel clip at the top of her head. She'd been dressed for something formal. A ritzy party or a diner, or an art show. I had no idea, but now her emerald, satin dress was torn and stained with dirt and…blood.

I could see the red of it now, trailing down from a gash across her side, and one that reached her thigh. She panted, drawing back against the dumpster across from us and watching the mouth of the alley with building terror. She knew she was trapped, and could only wait now.

"Why is it you people always scramble strait for isolation rather than the crowds?" My heart leapt into my throat at the sound of Isaac's voice. He appeared in the alley with a mocking smile. "Logically, other people could help you. I wouldn't be able to hurt you in a room full of other…well, not as easily."

When he stepped forward the girl made a high sound of fright and stumbled back against the dumpster. The vampire took this in a moment, watching the tears that leaked down her cheeks, then he titled his head and continued.

"And yet here we are. Nearly every time, you all scamper off into some shadowed hole where I can tear you apart and no one would see."

"_Please_." Her voice was hoarse, perhaps from screaming, and she let out a shrill one when Isaac traced in front of her, though he muffled the tail end of her cry with his palm.

"Please what?" he asked gently, his free hand snatched the fingers that tried to claw at him, twisting her wrist until it snapped and she screamed again beneath his hand. "Please don't hurt you? Don't _eat_ you?"

Isaac chuckled when she sagged against the dumpster and slipped his arm around her waist to keep her upright. "_You're_ the one who's made this so difficult, luv. I told you not to run from me, didn't I?" The girl closed her eyes a moment and sobbed under him, trying to push him away, but it was like shoving at a steel wall. Immovable. The vampire tsked, drawing back enough that she could cradle her broken wrist against her chest, and gazed up at him through tears.

My own vision blurred with them and I gripped Cern's arm so tightly, my fingers were numb, but couldn't speak. Couldn't even turn away.

Isaac hushed her, and reached up to stroke her wild hair from her face, smiling when she flinched away from his touch. "I told you I was dangerous, darling." He was saying, calm as could be, "I told you I'd eat you alive, and you just assumed I was being sexual." He laughed and shook his head. "See what happens when we assume, luv?"

Here, Isaac leaned in, a low growl echoing out across the alley and nuzzled into the girl's neck. She whimpered loudly, shaking her head, but his fingers tightened across her face, turning the skin red. Again she cried beneath his palm and the vampire pulled back to look her over.

"Hush now. It's too late for that." He kissed her bruised cheek and smiled charmingly. "No one is coming for you, and yes you are going to die in this alley,_ but _if you're real good I'll make it quick, how does that sound?"

"_Do_ something." I said softly, because I was too shocked to force any volume into my voice. The god beside me gave a solemn sigh and shook his head.

"I can not." He replied as Isaac smiled into the girl's hair and broke one of her fingers to hear her scream.

"Cern-"

"I am the tether that binds your conscious and your body. Without me you would be unable to return to it."

"Then take me back and-"

"There is no time." He said and my attention snapped back to Isaac and the girl when she gave a muffled shriek as the vampire bit into her throat.

No not bit. Tore. He sank his teeth into the flesh and shook his head like some sort of dog, pulling away and bringing a chunk of her throat with him. The blood seemed to leave her body in pressurized streams. I'd never seen the work of a punctured jugular, but I could tell by the quickly paling caste of her skin that she was already dying when Isaac grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the side of the dumpster. I watched the metal give with the force of his blow, buckling in around her skull which now seemed misshapen.

The girl no longer screamed. Instead she gave brief, almost grunts as Isaac slammed her into the dumpster twice more, ignoring the mist of blood that covered his face and shirt. I _heard_ her skull crack with the last blow and her body went completely limp. The sound was sickeningly wet and made bile rise in my throat, as did the sight of her once pretty face when Isaac let her body crumple onto its back and gazed down impassively. The blood was almost black around the splintered bone of her skull and as I stared I realized that the force of his blows had forced her left eye to push itself from the socket and now dangled from a cord of optical nerves down her cheek.

"Oh god." I covered my mouth and buried my face in Cern's chest, fight against the urge to vomit.

"He is wasteful." The god murmured, and in his voice I found sincere grief and anger. "This kill was not even for the need of food. Half of her blood has spilled at his feet."

"Take me back, Cern." I opened my eyes, staring in horror at Isaac as he crouched down beside the body and lift her good wrist. Titling his head, he hooked his finger around a silver bracelet and jerked it free to slip into his pocket. Just as he was standing, the world began to waver and quickly became a swirl of dark color before reforming into the sitting room I had first arrived in.

"I do not enjoy showing you such things, Mira." Cernnunos stepped forward as if to comfort me, but I held up a hand and shook my head. At the moment, I wasn't thinking beyond what I had just seen. The cruelty of it, because I knew Isaac had killed her simply for the pleasure of it.

"Do not think-"

"I need to wake up now." I said softly, eyes on the polished floor. For a long moment there was only silence, and then I heard the god exhale. My body suddenly felt as if it was weighted by rocks from the inside and I crumpled down onto my stomach with a cry. When I pushed myself up, it was on my bed in the hotel room. Without pause, I jumped to my feet and dashed into the nearest bathroom. Falling to my knees, I began vomiting so hard it hurt my stomach and made me dizzy, and when there was nothing left in my stomach, I dry-heaved.

* * *

**Alrighty, time for another important address of issues.**

**Isaac, we love him…well, mostly I do, for being such a smarmy little prick all the time. Now he's different and everyone is freaking out. Asking for explanations to not only his change, but the rest of the story.**

**I know you have read normal books, and I know that in these sites(fan, and fic press) stories are not known for leaving things hanging for more than the length of a chapter or two. But I'm sorry for those of you who want all the answers at this very second, and I'm sorry this isn't a physical copy that you can skip to the end with.**

_**Mira**_** is the narrator in the story. Keep this in mind. She is ****NOT**** omniscient, and she does NOT notice every tiny shift in the ppl around her. There WILL BE things she does not understand, and things ppl will not tell her. And sometimes she will take time to catch on. This is simply PRACTICAL.**

_**I**_** KNOW how this story ends and I know what has to happen **_**before**_** we get to it, and I'm asking that you trust me to know how to write you there. There will be things you find frustrating and things you don't understand, just like Mira, but that's how stories are written. All the answers are not tossed out at you in the first couple pages, that just isn't how it works.**

**Don't take this as my disliking your criticisms, but I've just gotten way too many of the same question, and honestly, it's of people being**** impatient****. YES, Cern will be returning, YES Colette is a bitch, YES Isaac has moments where he isn't an insufferable monster because otherwise no one could sympathize with his character in the places I needed them to!!**

**Normally I would send this as a message to the ppl that posted, but it seems that almost everyone is asking the same thing and that's kinda ridicules.**

**I'm not asking that you stop sending me criticisms, just stop telling me that you don't know what's going to happen or that you don't fully understand what already has, because HEY! I KNOW THAT. **

**It's kinda ****the point.**

**That being said I would really appreciate feedback on this chapter. I know there was a lot thrown at Mira, but I wanted it to be slightly disorienting.**


	18. Suck It Up

I woke up in the bathroom to the sounds of a guitar, Cern's visit still fresh in my mind. Still a bit angry and yet still hoping it had all been a dream, I followed the sound into the livingroom.

Isaac sat on top of the small circular table near the kitchen, strumming idly at a dark acoustic. Josep was stretched across the leather chair by the couch, legs flung over the arm. When he saw me, he flashed a charming, nearly flirtasious, smile and nodded toward the couch.

For a moment, the music stopped and Isaac lit a cigarette. He was so calm, so at ease. Images from my dream walk assaulted me and I crossed my arms, sickened by the fact that he could be so casual after what he'd done.

"Should you be smoking inside?" I asked, a bit harsher than I had intended.

He glanced up once and went back to plucking the strings of his guitar. "With what I'm paying for this place, they _should_ be providing a line of coke off the ass of their finest stripper."

I arched a brow, unable to think of a fitting response. What did one say to that? Thankfully, Sanurua came in with a glass of something amber and handed Isaac a bowl of cereal. Again I was a bit shocked.

"You eat Captain Crunch?"

He chuckled, setting his guitar aside to munch down. "Like you don't?"

Then came that nasty spike of irritation at his casual, strangely human manor. I wanted so badly to believe I'd only been dreaming. It wasn't just that a girl might be dead. As selfish as it was, I didn't like the thought that he'd fooled me. Of course I knew he fed, but a small part of me liked to ignore what I'd seen of his eating habits and imagine he could be merciful. I'd been getting comfortable around him again, stupid as it was, and that was only because I'd been pretending he wasn't a monster. At least not a _deplorable_ one.

I watched Isaac finish his cereal and go back to his smoke and guitar while Sanura took a chair and set her laptop beside him on the table. My arms went around me as another thought struck me. What did it mean that I_ could_ ignore such things? Knowing exactly what he was, having seen it firsthand, how could I justify living with him a comfortably as I did? Did I ignore these things because I wanted to, or because, I just didn't care anymore? Was there a difference? Cern had told me that without my soul I would start to "harden". Was that already happening?

I needed proof, I decided, that Isaac was a bastard. I need to remind myself that he was a monster and that I hated him. If not, then I must be on my way to becoming just like him, and that was_ not_ acceptable.

Sanura cursed, swatting lightly at her computer screen, and spoke in a language I didn't recognize. Peeking over the screen, Isaac shook his head.

"No, no. You buy _them_ out." He said, still strumming tirelessly at the guitar, "They're never going to be at a lower price, and if you drop _that_," he paused to wave at a name on her screen, "You'll have the money to spruce them back up."

"Are you giving financial advice?" I asked, moving toward the chair Isaac had neglected.

"Money management is an important skill no matter what you are, Mira. How did you think we could afford places like these?" Isaac laughed. "Vampire are not born with lavish fortunes."

Trying not to draw too much attention to myself I started searching the jacket Isaac had left over my chair.

"I kinda thought Colette was covering it."

He laughed bitterly, "Well, she _was_, until I talked her into this delay."

I glanced over at Josep who was watching me curiously.

"Are you looking for these?" Isaac asked, snapping my attention back to him and the pack of _Marlboro Reds _in his hand. Not knowing what else to do, I nodded and took one of the offered cigarettes.

"Um…light?" I asked, a bit tense. He noticed of course and glanced at Sanura, who shrugged and went back to typing.

"This pocket." He shifted, indicated his dark jeans.

I didn't bother with my usual refusal to play along, happy to be given an opening. Isaac looked shocked for just a moment when I pushed my fingers into his pocket and rooted around. Sanura paused to look between us, brow arched, while Isaac's shock was melting into something else entirely. His hand whipped out, pulling me closer, but my fingers closed around something cold and I felt my expression go hard.

He lost his wicked smile when I held up the broken bracelet between us. The silence became deafening.

I waited for the rage to with my proof. Waited as Isaac pulled back and titled his head at me. He ws wondering how I could know about what it was. How I could possibly have seen anything. And while he wondered, I was trying to understand why I couldn't muster the fury I'd been counting on. There was only that damn irritation. Why wasn't I flying off the handle as I used to over such little things? This of course made me angry, but it just wasn't the same.

"You were sleeping, Mira." He said, snatching the bracelet just as I'd read the name on the metal plate.

"Well, I just learned a cool, new trick." I replied with a scowl I nearly had to force. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself with Christy."

For a long moment, Isaac didn't move. His eyes, currently their mismatched colors seemed to boil with something violent and frightening. If not for my body being frozen, I would have backed away. Perhaps there was actual courage behind my keeping his gaze, so I forced myself to relax and seem stronger.

He didn't seem to be impressed.

"And when did your master begin visiting?" he asked, his voice a dangerous, silky calm. Putting a foot of distance between us, I closed the fist that had gripped the bracelet, feeling slightly dirty for having touched it at all.

"Don't start Isaac. I want to talk about you. What _you_ did. I watched it happen." My arms crossed over my chest as I stared at him. "The way she looked after was…why did you-"

"_Ooo_k." Josep was suddenly behind me and forcing me to turn and walk toward the far hall. Isaac stood slowly, uncurling himself from the table like a snake, while his eyes remained narrowed on me. Josep's pace was brisk and unyielding. I stumbled forward, stopping only at the door to the last bedroom, then his pale hand shot out for the knob and pushed me inside.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked as the door snapped shut and locked. I spun to face him with an incredulous smile.

"It must be_ so_ difficult for all of you to understand us humans and all our silly _emotions_, but I am **not** ok with killing." Strangely, this felt like a lie.

Josep nodded, hands sliding into his pants pockets. "So we shouldn't bother feeding ourselves because it offends you. _That_ makes sense."

"That's not what I-"

"And if I said your eating offended _me_, would you stop doing it as well?"

"Don't be stupid, I would die." I sighed and Josep stepped suddenly closer.

"Exactly. You would die." He turned my chin when I tried to look away, "I enjoy being what I am, just as much as you cling to remaining human, and _this_ is the price we pay for that. Some of us were given no _choice_ in the matter. Stop acting so childish and learn to **live** with it."

"But he wasn't _feeding_, Josep, he killed her for nothing."

"Do you not understand the _respect_ he's showing you by not forcing you to witness these things? That he cares enough to keep that part of himself away from you? Has he ever shielded you before?" He shook his head with a humorless laugh, "You look for_ any_ excuse to remind him that you never wanted this and I must say, even _I've_ grown tired of it." Josep released me to pace.

"I can't just ignore it, Josep." I ran my fingers through my hair, wincing at the knots that snagged them. "I'm sorry, but I just can't. Hopefully one day you won't have to put up with me anymore."

Josep's eyes snapped to me and darkened from their usual chocolaty color. "You assume one day you will go back to your _old_ life?"

I shrugged, "Well, minus the hunters. That seems to be a big no-no with you guys." I smiled a bit and looked back up at him, but Josep was deadly serious. The air around him seemed colder as if he were leeching the warmth from the room.

"Listen to me Mira, you don't get to live the way you used to. You _never_ can. You stumbled into this world by tragic accident, and I truly wish you had another choice, but you've seen too _much_."

I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my stomach twisting and watched him.

"Even if Colette and the others, _miraculously_, let you walk away from everything, you have seen a **God** now, you've been _bound_ to him. You will _**never**_ go back to your old life, so start getting used to this one."

"What do you mean bound?"

Josep cocked his head at me and looked as if he wanted to snap something, but paused to sigh heavily instead, "When Cernnunos came to you, it wasn't in the hotel room was it?"

"No, it was in a dream."

He arched a brow.

"But it was _real_, how else would I have seen Isaac." I said hurriedly, trying to cover that the first part had sounded so foolish.

Josep came to kneel in front of me, taking my hands. His expression was oddly apologetic and irritated at the same time. Like he were explaining to a child what they didn't want to hear. "In this dream, did he call to you? Maybe have you follow him somewhere?"

"I walked down a dirty, old hallway and went through this huge decretive door."

The vampire nodded, squeezing my hands gently. "Isaac was a _distraction_. He told me that the god had trouble getting into your head that night in the forest. I assume for him breaching your unconscious, _unprotected_ mind would be much easier." I began to shake my head, but he hushed me with a finger to my lips. "All he needed was to distract you long enough to form a solid bond between you."

I stood up and stepped around him, "How could you possibly know any of that is true?"

With a resigned little smile, he moved to the door, "It seems you can't trust anyone these days."

And with that, he left me wanting to pull out all my hair.

**xx**

I waited in Josep's room for little over half an hour, trying to relax. Denying the idea that Cernunnos had done just what Josep said, seemed more and more foolish as I thought about it. What that _meant _however, was keeping me nervous. I had learned to lock Isaac from my head, to recognize the feeling that meant he was at the edges of my mind. Could I do so with a god?

The decision to take Josep's advice came with great difficulty. I still wanted to hate Isaac, but it wasn't just because of what he was. A part of me, deep down, still feared that if I didn't hate him with everything I had, he would make me _love_ him again.

The truth was, though I tried my best to force it down, I still remembered the way he'd been before he'd stopped pretending. The way he was _everything_ I needed. So perfect it was painful. He'd been able to read me so easily, knowing just when to hold me and when I needed space. He'd pampered me, and protected me; fussing over me when I had a cold, kissing my hair and tucking me into bed without making me feel helpless or childish. He'd made me laugh and took in every word I'd said like it was the most important thing in his world. Like I was _his_ everything.

Such a wonderful actor he'd turned out to be.

That was where my anger came from. Not from fear or disgust. I was _bitter_. I hadn't seen through his act, or realized that every time he'd whispered that he loved me, it had been a lie. I was angry because the tiniest part of me wanted it back.

I wanted him to lie again.

"You're pathetic, Mira." I whispered, throwing Josep's pillow at the wall and standing.

No more brooding. I needed to accept this way of living, like Josep said. I had to come to terms with the fact that he'd hurt me so deeply and that he felt nothing for it. He never would. It would be easier to live with him that way.

Besides, what choice did I have?

* * *

**This chapter seemed really choppy and rushed to me, and I apologize for that. It's my own fault for being so damned impatient to get back to the **_**real**_** bits of the story I want to tell. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up, sooner than this one, which, I'm hoping you'll find a bit more interesting. Mira can whine, I realize this, but she also gets flustered easily, and that is what I love about her at the moment….oh yes…**

**Anywho. Tell me what ya liked, what ya wanted to curse me for writing, and whatever else you feel like throwing in there. Barbs, gold, cookies, wenches. It's all good.**


	19. Standing for the Wrong Things

When I finally swallowed down my irritation and left Josep's room, Isaac was playing the guitar again. This time he was sitting in the armchair closet to the fire while Sanura and Josep lounged on the couch listening. The vampire ignored me as I came to sit in the opposite armchair, tucking my legs up under myself and watching him. I knew the tune, had heard it many times when my father had played the guitar to put me to sleep_. House of the Rising Sun_, by The Animals, but as Isaac began to sing the lyrics, I found myself growing impressed.

_There is a house in New Orleans  
They call the Rising Sun,  
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy  
And God, _

_I know_

_I'm one. _

Isaac's voice was pleasant and soothing. He gave the song a bluegrass-y sound I'd never heard before and the pleasure of listening temporarily made me forget why I'd come out here in the first place. His fingers were quick and sure on the strings of his guitar, picking out the notes without trouble, though I suppose several lifetimes to practice really_ did_ make perfect.

"Oh, _m'bello_," Sanura smiled, eyes flashing as Isaac played out the guitar solo. "It's been so long since you played for us."

Isaac smiled with one corner of his mouth, turning the expression wicked and playful, and it didn't fall away as he finished singing the song. When the last notes had been strummed, Josep cheered and Sanura cried for another. Not wanting to ruin the mood, I remained quiet and tried not to be upset that Isaac had yet to acknowledge me. He was angry, that much was obvious, and I wanted to talk to him, to apologize, if I could manage to force the words from my mouth. It was looking harder by the second.

"Requests?" Isaac asked, leaning forward to swipe Sanura's cigarette and take a slow drag. She giggled at something Josep was doing which made me arch a brow but I figured I didn't want to know anyway and looked back to Isaac.

"Hmm," Sanura grinned, swatting at Josep's hand, "Ah! Something modern!" She motioned vaguely at me and I realized that the vampire must have been a little drunk, "Mira's here now. Play something new."

Josep's smile faltered just a bit as he glanced between us, but Isaac only looked at me.

"Very well." He said and glanced down at his guitar to strum the opening cords of his song. It was light and fun, and change from the languid pace of the Animals song. After a few moments, I recognized it from the radio and fought a grin that he would know the song at all.

_Your lipstick stains_

_On the front lobe of my left side brains,_

_I knew I wouldn't forget you _

_and so I went and let you_

_Blow my mind_.

His eyes lifted to mine and his expression was one I suddenly couldn't read as he sang the next verse, giving the words meaning beyond just the song.

_Your sweet moonbeams_

_The smell of you in every single dream I dream._

_I knew when we collided, _

_You're the one I have decided_

_Who's one of my kind._

He slipped into the chorus then smiling for Sanura as she stood and pulled Josep up along with her to dance behind the couch. When the chorus of _Hey Soul Sister_ came around again the three of them were all singing along while I remained in my chair watching Isaac play DJ with his painted smile. Though he was a master at hiding what he truly felt, I was beginning to notice the signs.

_The smell of you in every single dream I dream._

The words made me shiver.

When the song was finished, Sanura burst out in happy laughter and fell into Josep's arms. The vampire smiled spinning her around and, to her delighted squeal, bent to kiss her. It lasted seconds and when she pulled back to search his expression, Sanura's brows were raised in surprise.

"I didn't think you were into…" But he chuckled and she trailed off.

"When have you known me to deny anyone over gender?" she shrugged, smoothing down his collar, and he grinned, "Besides I don't have long left. It makes a guy open for anything."

Sanura giggled again as his arm slipped around her waist, and they moved for the hall. Isaac, setting his guitar on the carpet beside him cleared his throat.

"Try not to wake the neighbors, children. Just keep in mind that she's a screamer."

Something flew across the living room to narrowly miss Isaac's head and he laughed, giving Sanura a mocking wave. She was too occupied with Josep however to really care and skipped off to her room. Josep remained at the mouth of the hallway and as Isaac went to grab a new smoke, he winked at me and nodded toward him. Apparently he knew why I'd come out and was clearing the room to give us privacy.

While getting himself some action of course.

My eyes went back to Isaac and I tapped my hand on my knee, fighting to come up with a way to start this conversation. I'd rather not go through it at all, but this needed to be said. I was tired of fighting so hard to hate him and wasting energy on pointless arguments. If we didn't find a middle ground, then someone would eventually say the wrong thing (probably me) and end up dead (probably me). Pagan God at my back or not, Isaac had a line and sooner or later I would stumble across it to my death.

"Say it."

He startled me when he spoke and I nearly jumped out of my chair, gripping the arms and turning to him.

"Say what?"

Isaac sighed, leaning back in his chair into a cocky masculine posture; legs spread wide, uncaring, and one arm hooked casually over the back of the chair. "Whatever it is you feel you need to get out. Just _do_ it. I don't have time to play this game with you tonight."

I scowled, crossing my arms, "What game?"

Rolling his eyes, the vampire took a drag of his cigarette and spoke, letting the smoke curl out with his words. "Your favorite one." He said with a sarcastic smile, "Where you accuse me of being a heartless monster and stomp off to your room like a childish brat. So go on, little girl, tell me what a horrible, disgusting _thing_ I am. Tell me how you hate me and wish me dead." He checked his watch and arched a brow. "Just do it quickly, I have somewhere to be tonight."

My jaw dropped at this and for a moment I couldn't even speak. Isaac's brows rose expectantly as I sat there growing hot with rage, and took a slow drag, watching me through the pattern of smoke.

_Asshole. Stupid, jerky, sonofabitch, asshole_. I could have forgotten this whole thing, really considered it, but _this_ was exactly the problem. We couldn't keep doing this, not if I was going to live with him indefinitely. It couldn't work, and we couldn't keep attacking each other. Not that I didn't _want_ to reach over and pull those pretty eyes right out of his skull and nail them to the wall, I just had to learn to play nice.

Or at least attempt to.

"Isaac," I began, taking a deep breath to keep my voice even, "I didn't come here to yell at you-"

"That's surprising." He interrupted with a tight smile, "Are you saving it up for next time?"

My eyes narrowed, but I didn't bite at the bait he wiggled in front of me. "I came because I think we both need to talk."

Isaac groaned, sinking down into his chair and ran a hand into his hair. "Ok, I'm going to stop you right there. I have neither the patients nor the _desire_ to be civil with you, Mira. I don't care if you came to apologize and I don't want to sit here and share feelings with you. This isn't a slumber party, and I am _not_ your friend."

I grit my teeth a moment, anger threatening to take control again, "Will you just shut your face and _listen_ to me?"

The vampire stood, laughing, "_Shut my face_? Is that some hip new lingo the kids are using nowadays?"

That was it.

"God _damnit_, Isaac!" I cried, standing to lob a pillow at his head, though he swatted it away with little effort. "I'm trying to ask for a truce here and you can't even hear me out! What is_ wrong_ with you? Why is it so hard for you to even _pretend_ for one fucking _second_ that you're human?"

"_Because I'm __**not**_!" he bellowed back. In a blink he was in front of me, holding my upper arms and shaking me to emphasize his point, pupils swelling to consume his eyes in anger.

"Why don't you get that?" he asked, then shoved me back so that I fell onto the couch. "I haven't been human for a long, _long_ time, Mira. I don't remember what it bloody _feels_ like!" He moved forward again stalking me as I crawled backwards across the couch and slamming his hands down on either side of my head when I'd reached the end.

"I understand that you can't pry yourself away from your precious morals yet, but eventually you'll have to learn or leave." He let his fangs flash from his frightening leer, "Do it quickly, because I can't keep waiting for you to grow up."

"Grow up?" I shoved his chest, though it did nothing. He was a solid wall at this point, "Are you kidding me? _Grow up_? That involves ignoring the fact that you kill people for _fun,_ right? Sure, I'll just get over that."

He laughed, incredulous and tired, pushing off the couch to turn away from me and crack his neck.

"Would it make a difference if I told you she was a shadow? Maybe that she was selling transients to her master's friends as snacks?"

"Sure, but it wouldn't have a made a difference if she wasn't. You still would have murdered her."

Isaac shook his head and it looked as if he had deflated. The anger seeped away and he plopped down in his chair with a weary sigh. "You're right. I killed her because I was told to. What she'd done was not my concern. She was dead either way."

"And you're just _okay_ with it. That's what bothers me."

Isaac rested his head in his hand, "Eventually, Mira, you will realize that life is not as precious as you like to make it out to be. Sometimes death is a reprieve."

"Didn't do _you_ much good." I snapped, arms crossed. Now _I_ was tired again. Talking to him always made me tired.

"I said _death_." He replied tersely, looking back at me, "I didn't get that privilege. I'm still here. I live because I must and take pleasure in anything I can. It makes no difference whether you approve or not, you are nothing but a fruit fly. You will end so quickly you might as well have never lived at all in comparison to the life I will see. I am endless, _you_," he swept me with a scathing look, "are nothing."

It sort of hurt, hearing him say such a thing, but I didn't show it. Instead I only stared at him and pulled myself so far back from the surface of myself that I might as well have been as empty as he was.

"I'm worthless to you then." I clarified.

The vampire didn't answer and seemed content to ignore me again, so I stood, and moved to the front door to grab my jacket.

"Then let's do this." I said, "I'm sure you have other jobs while we're here. Take me with you."

He only stared at me. I don't think he believed what he was hearing.

"Oh come on, how else will I get used to it then?"

"What are you trying to prove?" he asked, not moving.

I didn't know yet. He'd made me angry and now there was an urge to show him…something, but I didn't really understand what it was yet. All I knew was that I wanted to do this, wanted to see him in action, without Cern there to take everything out of context.

"Do you have another errand from Collette or what?"

"Just one." He replied.

"Then let's go."

The vampire shook his head and settled down in his chair, eyes closing. "Sanura will help me, you wouldn't be able to handle it even if we weren't killing the girl."

I marched across the room and placed my hands on either side of his chair, leaning down to stare into his face. "Isaac, get your ass up and take me out to this job."

He looked up at me, laughing softly and grabbed my wrists, standing and forcing me back at the same time. He squeezed so hard that the bones ground together before he released me and disappeared somewhere in the hotel suite.

For a long moment, I thought he'd simply left me, but the vampire returned holding a long black jacket made of leather and cut for a woman.

"This is Sanura's, but it should fit you well enough." He tossed it at me and I was hit by two separate articles of clothing. "the pants are a gamble."

"Why would I need these?" I asked holding up the glossy, black latex capris with a frown. Isaac laughed and crossed his arms with shrug.

"The job is at a fetish club." He answered simply, watching for my reaction. I did my best to cover it and remain determined. "Still interested?" he asked mockingly.

"Shut up." I snapped, spinning on my heel to march off toward the bathroom. "I'll be back in a minute. Don't leave."

Isaac chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm looking forward to seeing you squirm, love. I'm not leaving without you now."

Wonderful, I thought, and imagined what Isaac's head would look like skewered on a pike in the lawn of his manor. The thought made me smile and I held tightly to it as I went to change into this silly costume. If I was lucky, I would live to see it.


	20. Obsidian

It wasn't fair that he looked so good in leather. When I'd returned from the bathroom, it had been to the vampire in black, leather pants and a suit-like button-up shirt and tie. An odd combination, I'll admit, but somehow fitting. Perhaps it was just his personality, but Isaac seemed to fit into any style he chose to wear.

I however, felt ridiculous. My pants seemed, literally, painted on like I'd been dipped in glossy black latex, my breasts were prominently displayed in a suedo-corset, and my make-up was dark and alluring. I looked like a completely different person.

Granted this girl was admittedly attractive. It didn't make me feel any better though.

Isaac crossed his arms to look over his work, smirking at my open-mouthed reaction. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I murmured eyeing my glossy black legs and hoping the material wouldn't split or simply explode off of me.

"Then let's do this." He offered me his arm and, with a deep breath, I took it.

The car ride there wasn't long. The club was located in the next town over in their warehouse district. It was a popular place for this particular group of freaks, but not too well known in the surrounding area. According to Isaac, one needed to be invited before you could even get in, but Colette had provided the necessary documentation, so it wouldn't be a problem.

"What did she do?" I asked as we were pulling into the warehouse near this club. It had been converted into a parking garage of sorts to keep cars out of sight.

Isaac glanced my way, pulling into a spot close to the exit, then killed the engine and turned to face me.

"The girl I've been sent to take care of goes by the name Dahlia, born Alexis Harper. She's 26 years old and became a shadow when she was 16. Her master was a relatively young vampire named Samuel." He sighed, "She killed him about two months ago by burning his home down around him while he slept. It was during the day, so he had no way to recover after the fire and met the final death short after."

"But," I frowned, "_You_ can go in the sun Isaac. Why couldn't he?"

"According to Colette," he continued over me, "She has since made herself a nuisance by kidnapping and killing travelers and certain friends, to sell to other young vampires she met through Samuel. We would have overlooked her murdering Samuel, he was young and stupid after all, but she's drawing attention to herself now and the others have gotten restless."

"So she's hurting people?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied slowly, watching my face for a reaction.

"Alright, then." I opened my door at that and stepped out. Isaac met me beside the door, closing it behind me. When I moved to walk forward however, he pinned me up against the car.

"You need to understand your part tonight, Mira." He said, his tone hard. "I didn't bring you along just to look tempting."

"I've told you I'm going to help, Isaac, what more do you want?"

The vampire smirked. "I've told you that this was a fetish club, so once inside you will take on the role of my submissive. You will not argue with me, in fact it would be best if you seemed cowed by _anything_ I tell you. You will _not_ complain when I touch you and you will _not_ speak to me the way you do now."

"And how will I speak to you then?" I asked, arching an irritated brow.

"Strictly yes and no _Sir_'s. Remember, Mira, inside this place, you are_ mine_. She has to believe it and so do they. I'm going to make you uncomfortable, but you have to take it, do you understand? If she doesn't take the bait, this was all pointless."

"What exactly am I getting into?" I asked, feeling the first real tugs of nerves in my gut. "Why did you need a partner for this one?"

At that, Isaac chuckled, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from my face, "I have been told that Dahlia gets a certain…_thrill_ from couples. To get her attention, you will be my date."

"How far are you planning on taking this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him in suspicion.

He only shrugged, "As far as necessary."

_Wonderful,_ I thought, That answered _nothing._

Isaac inhaled slowly, though he didn't need the air and offered me his arm. "Shall we then?"

I took a moment to glare at him, just to get it out of the way, and looped my arm in his. I told myself that after this was done, I would have the time in the world to kill him for whatever he planned on putting me through. It seemed though, that the stone resolve I'd had earlier was quickly melting away the closer we can to the entrance.

A bulky, gladiator of a man stood in front of the door, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, though it was nearly midnight. When he saw us he held up a hand and slid the glasses down the bridge of his nose to look us over.

"Can I help you?" he asked, focusing on me in particular. I felt naked in these ridiculous clothes, even with Sanura's knee-length leather coat, but that was probably the point. My hair had been drawn back in a complicated knot on the back of my head, with a small shock of dark curls that hung down around my left shoulder. Seeing the bouncer's attention, Isaac's cool finger slid around the back of my neck possessively and he offered the man a less than friendly smile.

"You can open the door and let us inside." He said. His voice had gone from playful to hard as he slipped into his Dom persona. It made me wonder if he had done this before, than shake off the thought, because I really didn't want to know.

"That so?" the bouncer pushed his sunglasses back into place and crossed his arms over his massive chest. He was trying to look intimidating, and didn't like that Isaac seemed unaffected. Granted the vampire could rip him in half with the effort it took to tear paper, but _he_ didn't know that.

Isaac reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and held up a slip of folded paper. "If you would be so kind."

Seeing the paper, the guy scowled. He took another long look at me, than jabbed his thumb behind him at the warehouse door.

"Get your freak on." He said to me and I ducked down my head, letting Isaac lead me inside.

Inside was dimly lit hallway with a receptionist of sorts. Seeing us she smiled and click-clacked forward in 6-inch red heels. She was dressed much like me, in a dark blue corset and a black skirt that looked more like a belt than anything else.

"You're new." She smiled taking the paper that Isaac offered and reading over it quickly. Her eyes snapped back up to him then scanned me and she grinned. "But entirely welcome."

Her attention remained on Isaac after that, as if I wasn't there. "Can I take your coats?"

"Only this one." Isaac replied and released the back of my neck. After a moment, I realized they were both starring at me and I blushed.

"Well?" he prompted, arching a brow. I quickly unbuttoned the thing and handed it over to the woman. She folded it over her arm with a smirk than looked back to Isaac.

"She seems uncomfortable."

The vampire chuckled, taking hold of the back of my neck again. "It's good for her." He replied. "How else will they learn?"

The receptionist laughed. "Well I wish you luck in training her. It can be such a hassle."

Isaac stroked my cheek like I was a dog and his smile became wicked. "I quite enjoy the process actually. They always fight so hard in the beginning." He took my chin and forced me to look at him, "This one especially. I will enjoy breaking her."

The receptionist's eyes gleamed at that and she reached into the front of her corset to present him with a sleek, black business card.

"Well, should you ever wish to play with something that knows the rules, I am always available."

He took the card, glancing up at her and handed it to me. Not knowing what else to do with the thing, I slipped it into his jacket pocket, which seemed to please him.

"I'm not sure you could _handle_ me, Margret." I watched a shiver pass down her spine when he said her name and resisted the urge to vomit. Margret however, straitened, giving him a far too inviting smile and licked her lips.

"You'd be surprised."

With that, Isaac grinned and Margret turned to hang my coat in closet behind her desk. I let Isaac grab my neck again and lead me down the hall toward a door. The closer we came, the louder the pulse of bass was from inside.

"Are you ready?" he asked me softly. I didn't hesitate to answer.

"No."

And then we were inside.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it hadn't been this. The warehouse was two levels from where I could see. The first of which had been converted into a large dance floor, with booths placed along its outer edge. Scattered throughout the dance floor were large glass boxes and as we came closer I realized there were people inside.

The one closest to us encased a woman of about 30. She was naked, or at least would have been if not for the artistically applied black and silver latex paint. Her arms had been bound behind her back from the wrists to her elbows with black satin, forcing out her breast, and her legs were spread wide by a thick metal bar cuffed to her ankles. A dark rubber ball had been strapped into her mouth, forcing it wide open and another dark satin ribbon had been knotted around her head as a blindfold.

Seeing my horrified expression, Isaac chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders to pull me close. "It's considered an honor for a slave to be placed in one of those." He said next to my ear so that I could hear over the booming trip-hop music. "It is a punishment of humiliation for the slave. Should she fall, or beg to be released, she has failed her master and will likely be discarded."

"And you know this because?"

The vampire only laughed and squeezed my shoulder, continuing into the club. There was a bar near the back, done up in red neon lights and glossy black marble. The male bartenders were dressed in tight-fitting latex tuxes, the girl in a tight rubber nurses uniform. Isaac found us a booth near the bar and had me sit while he went to grab us drinks. I was starting to think this job would require copious amounts of alcohol, so I was thankful.

While he was gone, I tried my best not to be completely terrified by my surroundings, but the more I saw, the worse it got. There was a stage at the front of the dance floor, though it wasn't used for bands. Instead, I sported a number of odd looking machines and tools that made it look like a public torture chamber. As I watched, one man was led onto the stage on his hands and knees by a tall, strict looking woman in a suit. She tugged harshly at the chain leash around his neck and barked a command I couldn't hear from across the room. The man stood slowly, keeping his head bowed, and placed both hands behind his neck. A pair of assistants moved forward, rolling a large metal frame around him and lifted his arms up to cuff him from the chains that dangled from its top. They pulled the chains up until the man was on his toes and backed away, heads down like his.

His mistress (or that's what I assumed she was to him) moved close to whisper something into the man's ear that made him shudder, then stepped behind him to search the cart of tools there. Choosing a short whip-like thing, with multiple ends, she snapped it once beside him and smiled. A cheer went through the crowd when she slashed it down across his back, but no matter how many times she whipped him, he never cried out. Simply winced and stood tall.

"Enjoying the show?" Isaac startled me as his slid into the booth beside me, handing me a glass of something amber. Finally able to tear my eyes from the stage, I downed the thing in one gulp and set it back on the table, shuddering at the burn as it trailed down my throat and spread into my chest. Arching a brow, Isaac handed over his own drink and leaned back to watch me.

"Is this legal?" I asked, sipping at his drink. I felt like I'd slipped into a nightmare. The vampire however nodded, with a smile.

"He has fully consented to anything she asks of him, if that's what you're asking. Why?" he pinched my cheek teasingly, "Are you too vanilla for all of this? Does it frighten you?"

I swatted away his hand with a scowl "Can we just get this over with so I can get home and scrub my brain?"

"Don't over-exaggerate." Isaac scoffed, hailing one of the women dressed as a nurse. "It isn't that bad."

"Sure." I said, and looked back up at the bar where the man had been turned around and bent forward over another bar. His pants were also gone now and the woman was…my eyes shot wide and I scooted close to Isaac as he ordered more drinks.

"Is she..?"

He glanced up at the stage and laughed, "Looks like."

I watched in horror as she fitted herself with large black object and stepped up behind him.

"In front of everybody?"

"Seems so." He said.

I downed the rest of Isaac's drink, whiskey I believed, and shook my head at the burn. "Oh my god."

I decided to avoid looking at the stage after another cheer went through the crowd, and instead focused on the round of drinks the waitress was bringing us. It wasn't until I finished half of my third one that Isaac finally spoke.

"Now, this is the part you aren't going to like." Isaac said, taking a drink of his whiskey and watching me over the rim.

"Why's that?" I frowned.

"I want you to sit over my lap." He said, completely strait faced, but for a moment I didn't know whether to take him seriously or not. It seemed so ridiculous.

"Like…"

"_Like,_ come here and straddle me as a good little submissive would when she's told."

I smiled at him and sipped at my drink, swallowing passed the unpleasant burn. "Let me tell you the reasons that's _not_ going to happen-"

Before I could launch into my speech however, Isaac grabbed my arm and yanked me closer to him. One arm slipped under my knee and he dragged me up onto his lap so that I was facing him and straddling his legs. My eyes went wide, and I looked around as if someone might catch us and disapprove, but I had forgotten where we were. There was far worse going on in this club.

"You agreed to this, remember." The vampire said, holding my thighs so that I couldn't wriggle off of him. "I told you, you wouldn't want to do this, but you _insisted_." One hand skimmed up my thigh to my hip and he pulled me down, forcing me to grind against him. "Do you still want to prove yourself to me?"

"So this is punishment?" I asked pushing against his chest with no result, "You're trying to make this hard for me now?"

He grinned wickedly, tilting his head. "If I wanted to make it hard, I'd tell you to lose the shirt as well."

"No." I said flatly, scowling at his innuendo, and he shrugged.

"Then be thankful."

I glared at the empty seat beside us, holding onto his shoulders for balance. "Shouldn't we be looking for this girl?"

Isaac, curling his fingers around the back of my neck, chuckled and turned my head back to face him. "She's standing at the bar watching us right now."

I looked across the small stretch of dance floor between us and the red-neon lit bar. There were too many people to tell which he meant, but Isaac pulled me down again, speaking into my ear.

"Pink and black hair, short little get-up." He pressed his cheek to mine, petting my hair like some sort of dog. "The one making eyes at us."

This time I spotted her, wearing an unbelievably short purple dress and black stockings. Her makeup was dark and severe, but fitting, contrasting with skin paler than my own. She nearly looked as dead as Isaac. When she caught my stare, a sultry smile curled her deep red lips and she winked. Isaac pulled away from me to gaze at her. It must have come off as an invitation because she waved goodbye to the woman she'd been talking with and made her way toward us.

"What do I do?" I asked, beginning to panic. The whiskey was starting to take effect as well and seemed to amplify everything around me. Including, unfortunately, the feel of Isaac beneath me.

"Follow my lead, try not to say much. Remember, you're my plaything in here, act accordingly."

I hated that word. More so that it had been used to describe me so many times since moving in with Isaac.

"I haven't seen _you_ here before."

When I heard her voice, low and seductive, I couldn't force myself to look up, so instead I leaned my forehead against Isaac's shoulder, pretending to be absorbed in him. Isaac played along, lifting my wrist and kissing my scar, sending a spark of feeling through me. It was startling how easily he could evoke such things from his bites, and the whiskey wasn't helping me ignore it.

"Were we that obvious?" he asked.

The girl laughed, soft and throaty, slipping into our booth beside Isaac. "I have a mind for faces, that's all." I felt her fingers brush down my hair and touch my shoulder, and had to fight the urge to recoil. "My name's Dahlia. And you?"

"Mira." I said, voice wavering just enough that she must have known I was uncomfortable. "This is Isaac."

"It's a pleasure." She smiled. I didn't like the way she was eyeing me in particular. To distract myself, I nuzzled into Isaac's throat, nipping the flesh there. The vampire's soft chuckle rumbled up into my chest and he pulled me back to stroke his thumb across my lower lip.

"Patience, love, I'll play with you later." I pouted, drawing his thumb into my mouth, enjoining the brief flash of surprise on his face. He recovered quickly enough. "We have company now. Wouldn't you like to get to know her?"

Keeping my pout, I sighed and slid off his lap to put distance between me and the freaky shadow. "You promised not to tease me."

Isaac lifted my chin with a smile, leaning in to brush a kiss on the corner of my mouth. "When have I ever kept that promise?" When he pulled back to face Dahlia, her eyes were shining with something that said she was enjoying our little show. "You must forgive her. She's new to all of this I'm afraid."

"She's adorable." The shadow scanned me slowly then turned to Isaac, touching his arm, "But _you_ are interesting. I don't see many of your kind here."

"My kind?" he asked watching her fingers slide down his bicep and back, then reached out to squeeze my thigh so I'd know I hadn't been forgotten.

Dahlia smiled brightly, looking around before leaning closer to speak softly. "I know what you are." Her hand moved to his side and slipped around to test the flat plane of his stomach, "I could tell when you first walked in here. Your kind always gives off a certain…_glow_."

Isaac arched a brow, taking her hand and lifting it off his shirt, "And what am I?"

She smiled wider, leaning in to speak into his ear, though I could still hear her.

"_Vampire_. And she…" her hand moved across him to touch my throat above my scar, "_She_ is your shadow."

For a long moment, Isaac only stared at her. He still held her wrist and must have tightened his grip because Dahlia whimpered, but she didn't try to pull away.

"It's alright!" she said quickly, leaning forward to relieve the pressure on her wrist. "I'm not going to tell anyone, I promise! I'm a shadow too."

Isaac's cold expression didn't fade and he tightened his hold on her until she gasped. "I don't smell your master."

"He isn't here." She said, "I'm all alone."

At that, Isaac grinned and he released her, "And is your master a jealous man?"

She rubbed her wrist, but gave him an inviting smile, "Not so much these days. Sometimes I think I might as well just move on."

"Is that so?" the vampire leaned back in the booth, letting her mold to his side, reaching up to brush the pink hair from her face. "Mira."

I jumped at his hard tone, irritated that he wasn't even looking at me. In fact, like with the receptionist, they pretended I wasn't even there. How did these girls do this? I would go insane being treated like a _thing_.

"Bring our new friend something to drink, will you?" he smirked, "make it something sweet."

"Sure." I sighed and began sliding from the booth, but he snatched up my arm and dragged me back, twisting it painfully.

"What was that?"

I only stared at him in shock for a moment, before I remembered who I was supposed to be and tried my best to seem sorry. "Y-yes _sir_." I said and he released me while Dahlia hid her snicker.

"Good girl."

I resisted the urge to smash my whiskey glass into his face and hurried toward the bar, downing the rest of it. On the way there, I was fondled by multiple, faceless people, and even had my hair pulled. I fought my way through the pawing herd to the bar and took a moment to collect myself once I'd reached it.

The bartender who approached me was young and attractive, with blonde hair and dark blue eyes, but I just couldn't take him seriously in the latex tux. It was too ridiculous.

"I need another whiskey and something girly." I said, "Preferably sweet."

He looked at me a moment, then arched a brow in suspicion. "Can I see some id?"

Ws he kidding? Sure I was only 19, but this was stupid considering the illegal activities running rampant in this place. I however did my best not to explode at him.

"Look," I began with a heavy sigh, "I don't exactly have anywhere to keep my wallet and if I don't bring him a drink he's gunna…"I made my voice catch, pulling on a fearful expression for the guy's benefit. "_Please_." I urged, "He'll hurt me."

The bartender groaned, rolling his eyes and reached down to grab glasses. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. English guy's tab right?"

I nodded, releasing a breath as if relieved. "Thank you!" I climbed up into the bar stool and kissed his cheek, though he pulled away quickly. I was overplaying it, but I was also a little drunk now. I couldn't help myself.

When I came back with the drinks, Dahlia was moaning against Isaac's mouth, eyes closed, and looking almost pained. I stared for a long moment, not knowing what else to do. Isaac, still kissing the shadow hungrily, looked up at me. I arched a brow and sighed, then slugged the whiskey in my hand.

Isaac fisted Dahlia's hair and pulled her back enough to smile at her. His other hand slipped out from under the table and I couldn't help the shock that he'd gotten into her pants so quickly. Then again, we were in a this crazy nightclub, it couldn't be _that_ hard.

"I'll go get a room key." She said breathily, trying to kiss him again, but Isaac pulled just out of her reach with a chuckle.

"You do that."

When he let go of her she looked disappointed but caught sight of me and smiled again. I watched her slide out of the booth and handed over her drink without a word. Dahlia smiled and stepped closer than I would have liked.

"Mmm, thank you." She said and leaned down to brush a kiss over my lips. I just froze, I couldn't help myself.

This seemed to amuse her though, and she giggled, downing her fruity sugar-coated drink and disappearing into the crowd.

"Um…what's happening?" I asked while Isaac straitened his shirt again. It had come unbuttoned and before he closed it up, I spotted a row of deep red nail marks. The fact that they were still there, was a testament to Dahlia's intensity.

"She's invited us downstairs." He said with a wicked grin.

"Just like that?" I asked, "What was your pick-up line?"

"Something to the effect of '_my girl and I would love to have a threesome with you, if you're into it_.' Only, you know…more eloquent."

I sputtered on my liquor, "_What?"_

"I wasn't as straightforward as that, but she seemed eager enough." He grinned and pinched my cheek. "She _really_ likes you."

I groaned, sinking down into the seat and downed the rest of my drink, praying the alcohol would help free some of my inhibitions. I had to at least_ pretend_ I was into all this.

"I'm not talking to you after this."

"You won't have to talk to me tonight." He laughed, "Just lie there and pretend I'm the greatest bloody thing you've ever had."

"We're not having sex, Isaac. You're going to kill her."

He grinned, taking my hand and helping me to my feet. "We'll just see where the night takes us."

* * *

**I know this is probably riddled with spelling and gramatical errors but I only had an hour to get it posted before I had to give up my computer tonight and I wanted you all to know I haven't scrapped this story. How could I?**

**Anyway, this was going to be the full chapter, but it ended up being well over 6000 words, so I split it, which works better because now you get more of...(hehe) _something else_.**

**So, read, reveiw, do what you do. Let me know what you think so far of Obsidian, the fetish club!**


	21. The End of Dahlia

Dahlia led us down the dark hallway, farther and farther away from the stairway we'd descended and other people. My heart was already racing, in part from the liquor, and from the fear of what we were about to do. How fast would Isaac kill her? Surely he wouldn't take his time when we were in such a public place, private rooms or not. I watched her slip a red tag with the clubs name scripted across it from her pocket and push the key attached to it into the lock of a black painted door.

She moved into the room with a sultry smile aimed at Isaac and beckoned with her long-nailed finger for us to follow. I'd thought I was ready to do this. Perhaps I'd even been ready to let Isaac kill this girl. She was a criminal after all, at least to Colette and the other elders. I had told myself that she'd killed humans as well, that this was _right_, but at that moment, I was frozen.

Isaac moved to follow but noticed that I remained in my place, hands wringing the ruffle of taffeta at the bottom of my corset. He smirked to himself and his long, ring-covered fingers slid around the back of my neck again. He really seemed to like puppeting me around this way.

"Too late now, love." He murmured against my ear and then he was forcing me to walk, leading me into the room despite the fact that I wanted to high-tail it back up those creepy dark stairs and out of this place.

The click of the door shutting behind us made me jump, glancing around at Dahlia and the vampire who had yet to release me. The shadow smiled again, in that wicked way I thought I'd never be able to achieve and leaned back against the high post of a large canopied bed. Her hand swept the length of her trim waist and across her thigh before returning upwards.

"So, now that we're all here, what do you plan to do to us?" She asked. Isaac arched his brow, squeezing the back of my neck once and then pushing me forward.

"That depends," he said, eyeing me as I stumbled toward the bed and Dahlia took my hand. I imagined her fingers were claws, gripping tight to drag me down into some hell I wanted no part of.

"On what?" she asked, tracing the blue line of a vein beneath the flesh of my wrist. I didn't like her touching me, it made me feel strangely guilty. God, I'd had_ waaay_ too much alcohol.

"Do you enjoy conversation?" Isaac asked, titling his head as he removed his dark jacket and loosened the tie around his neck.

"Not as much as other things."

His smile was dark, dangerous. I knew that grin and stiffened slightly, though Dahlia didn't seem to notice.

"Mira," he snapped, his tone taking on a hard quality, though strangely alluring, "Get up on the bed. Sit back on your knees."

"What?" Dahlia released my hand and stepped away from the bed toward a large dresser. I glanced between her and Isaac and shook my head. "I don't…_No_."

"She's a feisty one." Dahlia commented, fiddling with a decorative blade on the top of the dresser and looking expectantly at Isaac.

"She tries to be." He sighed, moving forward to sweep the hair from my face, "She thinks she can have want she wants without working for it. I've spoiled her." His fingers suddenly tangled in my hair, forcing back my head, his expression melting into something cold.

"You know better." He said slowly, then nodded toward the bed, "Now, do as you're told."

Trembling, just a little when he released me, I ducked my head to hide a blush and climbed up onto the mattress, tucking my knees beneath me. Isaac's lips curled up in the corner and he stroked my cheek affectionately.

"Good girl." His patronizing tone made me want to hit him, even just cursing him would have helped with the anger, but I couldn't blow our cover. I knew now that he planned to play this out just a bit longer, and probably was enjoying messing with me.

_You can kill him later. Just stay calm._

"And what comes next?" Dahlia asked, her eyes glittering with excitement, "Will you punish her?"

_Holy Mary Mother of Fuck…No No No…_

Isaac glanced back at me, and for a moment, I think the bastard considered it. I could just imagine him with some sort of whip or riding crop, and it made me slightly nauseous with fear. Seeing this, however, he winked where only I could see and turned back to Dahlia.

"Come here." She stepped toward him but he shook his head, "No. On the floor. _Crawl_ to me."

For a moment she was still, but with a growing smile, the shadow dropped down onto her hands and knees and did just that as Isaac sat down on the edge of the bed right beside me. Dahlia covered the distance quickly enough and sat up at his feet. Her hands swept up the leather of his pant legs and over his thighs, pressing herself as close to him as she could manage from the floor. Isaac watched this with a cold detachment before his hand snapped out to close around her throat, dragging her up enough to claim her mouth with a kiss so passionate it made me uncomfortable.

The shadow moaned softly, her fingers tightening around his thighs. She made a soft, startled sound when he nipped her lower lip and pulled back, still close enough to kiss her should he want to. She tried to follow, but he drew just out of her reach again, and smirked.

"You're teasing me." She said in a soft, breathy voice.

"Isn't that the point?" he asked. The husky quality of his tone sent an unwarranted shiver down my spine.

Ok, so this dominating version of Isaac was a little scary, but oddly appealing. Duly noted.

Dahlia gave a throaty chuckle, her fingers moving to his belt buckle, but Isaac tsk'ed and shook his head. He led her onto her feet, pinching the fabric of her dress to pull her into his lap, her knees straddling his thighs.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, pet. None of that until I've had my fun."

"Ahh," she sighed happily, "what is sex without foreplay?"

"Boring." He replied, hands gliding up her sides.

"Yes, well, I don't think I can handle too much of your teasing."

Isaac chuckled, letting his eyes roam brazenly down her body and back. "Don't worry, precious. I'll have you screaming for me long before I'm ever inside you."

Dahlia shuttered in pleasure at the thought, but I heard the truth in it. He was threatening her and she didn't even know it. It was unnerving how incredibly good he was at this, _all_ of it. My eyes went to the collection of "toys" mounted along the walls. Some were sarp, some blunt. I wondered if he would use one of those, or simply rip her apart. Would he kill her like Christy?

"Mira."

I jumped at the sound of my name, having been content to sit and watch until now. Isaac's fingers slid around my chin, drawing me close enough to kiss lightly. His lips ghosted from my own and across the line of my jaw before he nibbled teasingly on the cusp of my ear.

"Find me something to play with, "he murmured, cool breath tickling my throat. "Rope or cuffs would do."

"I..um," my eyes fluttered closed, my fingers knotting in the sheets at my sides, "I don't know where anything is." My voice was breathy, which only made me blush further.

He sighed, pulling back to look at the flushed Dahlia who watched us with a delighted half-smile.

"Very well." And with that he rolled over, flipping Dahlia onto her back beneath him. I watched as the vampire pulled the tie from around his neck, inspecting it a moment before looking down at her with that cold and sexual expression. "Hold out your wrists and cross them over each other."

She did so without hesitation and watched as Isaac quickly bound her wrists with his tie. After he had tied the last knot, she inspected them, struggling half-heartedly to test their strength. After a few moments she laughed and looked back up at him.

"Damn, you're good at this."

He smirked, taking her bound wrists and pinning them above her head. "I have had much time to practice."

Her eyes fell closed and she groaned, "Where have you _been_ all my life?"

"I might have come sooner, but it seems Samuel wanted to keep you all to himself."

"Yeah. He always…"but her words trailed off as something occurred to her. Going very still, Dahlia looked up at him, her mouth bobbing for a moment, eyes narrowed in confusion. Isaac remained above her, brows raised expectantly as he waited for her to put it together, a sly grin beginning to curl his lips.

"How do you know..." She began slowly.

When Isaac laughed, I took the opportunity to slip off the bed and move a few feet away. His eyes slid to me just a moment then returned to the girl who still couldn't move. Even that short second of his attention chilled me. Right now he was a _killer_ and it scared the hell out of me.

"They tell me you killed your master," Isaac began, running his fingers down the line of her throat and to the bust of her dress. "It amazes me that even such a young boy would have trusted you so _entirely_." She tried to push him off, but Isaac's free hand curled tighter around her bound wrists and slammed them back onto the mattress, pinning her firmly. "Perhaps if he'd been smarter you wouldn't have trapped him in his hole to burn."

"He was a bastard." She said, "He wasn't even old enough for the other's to care he was dead."

"They cared enough to send _me_." Isaac leaned down, making a soft sound in his throat like a purr and brushed a kiss on her shoulder, "It's a pity though. I might have liked to keep you."

Dahlia smiled nervously, "If you did, I'm sure we could have a lot of fun together."

"_Or_…"

I jumped at the sound of her dress tearing. He simply ripped the thing right down the middle and smiled to flash his fangs.

"Isaac?" I asked, moving toward him and the bed again. He wouldn't really…would he? Dahlia shrieked and tried bucking him off like an animal but it only made the vampire laugh. When his hand went to his belt however, it nearly made me sick.

"No!" I cried, shooting across the bed and tackling him off the side. We rolled off the mattress, slamming down hard onto the wood floor. Isaac growled low in his throat, but I was already on my feet again.

"I'm so sorry." I said, reaching to close Dahlia's dress.

The shadow screamed, her bound hands closing into one large fist and slamming down against my temple. I managed to stay upright, but her fists swung back to clock me across the jaw and I slumped down onto the mattress beside her. Dahlia started wriggling, trying to reach the other side, but I swiped her ankle and was drunkenly pulling her back.

"Get off me bitch!" she screamed and kicked me right in the chest. I wheezed, slumping back onto the mattress and staying down this time. Dahlia leapt up off the bed as quick as she could and grasped at the porcelain lamp on the bedside table. She might have even smashed it against my skull if Isaac hadn't grabbed her arm and sent her flying into the opposite wall with a crack of bone. She screamed, and I worried that eventually this would attract attention, fetish club or not.

"Do it already." I yelled, pushing myself up, angry, and dizzy, and sickened all at once. "Stop _playing_ with her."

She was using the dresser to pull herself up when Isaac traced across the floor to stand right in front of her and take the dagger off her dresser before she could grab it. Not that stabbing him would have done much good.

"You heard the lady." He said, and buried the blade, to the hilt, into her gut before she had the chance to scream. He let her slump against him a moment as a look of confusion crossed her face and she glanced down at the blade. Dahlia frowned, turning back to him, then whimpered when he twisted the knife in her. The shadow coughed, spraying his shirt with tiny specks of blood and made a soft sound as if to speak, but Isaac placed a finger against her lips.

"Hush." He murmured, then drew his tongue over the blood at the corner of her mouth. He twisted the blade one last time and pushed her gently back so that she fell onto the mattress, still alive but unable to move.

Dahlia turned to me, working her mouth and nearly choking when her words were drown by the blood working its way from her throat. I didn't know what to do for her and inched closer to take hold of the dagger_. Maybe if she bled faster, she would die and would no longer be in pain_, I thought hopefully and pulled with everything I had to remove the blade with a wet sucking sound.

Dahlia groaned, the sound becoming a soft sob and tried to reach for me, tears in her narrowed, hateful eyes. Her blood began flowing freely onto the mattress, pooling in the tangled sheets and working its way toward me.

"Isaac?" I asked scrambling away from it. She wasn't dead; in fact she was trying to sit up, though it was obviously a struggle. The vampire didn't speak, but grabbed the laces of my corset, dragging me off the mattress onto my feet and took the knife. Without looking at me, he plunged it back into her and ripped the dagger up to her heart. There was a short moment when she sucked in a breath and looked up at the ceiling, but then her body began to relax and she went still on the mattress, her last breath hissing out from between her teeth. Dahlia's head rolled to the side and her eyes connected with mine just before the light in them faded away.

I couldn't move now, only stared into her dead accusing eyes, as I had Sarah's in the cabin so long ago. At least it felt like a long time, and here I was again. I tried to make sense of the emotions I was feeling, but everything seemed muted. I was shivering and cold and sick, but I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"I'll take you back to the hotel, Mira. I can take care of the rest of this on my own."

I didn't answer him, just continued to stare at the girl. Why wasn't I crying, or cursing him, or anything else that would have shown how disgusted I was supposed to be? That's what this had been about right? I wasn't even sure why I had agreed to this in the first place. My logic was skewed and I didn't understand myself anymore.

"You weren't bad you know." Isaac said. At some point he'd come to the side of the bed with me and took my hand. "Trying to kill her was commendable. It's sweet that you didn't want her in pain, even when she'd attacked you.

I glared at him and snatched my hand back, but his fingers laced through mine and drew it to his lips. He'd made the whole act sound childish and still cold, like I was somehow anything _like him_. It made me uncomfortable to compare us, and yet that was all I could muster at the moment.

Nothing seemed real. I was drawing away from the guilt and sickness I knew would come eventually. At least part of me _hoped_ they would. Now that I was void of them however, I feared what would happen when they returned. I'd just killed this woman, or helped at least. I'd fought her and thrown her to Isaac when she'd angered me.

"It isn't a bad thing that you aren't devastated right now." Isaac said suddenly. He kissed the back of my hand then turned it over to bite down on my wrist, pulling me closer. "It's better to remain collected. Without the guilt, you're completely in control." He sent another jolt of electric feeling down my arm with his teeth and grinned devilishly up at me. "Isn't that _empowering_?"

Yes. Yes it was, but I couldn't tell him that. Instead I remained silent and focused on standing strait with the ripples of feeling shooting to my core. Isaac was playing on my scar and when I didn't stop him, he slipped his hand into my hair and pulled my head to the side.

"Stay calm, Mira. It's easier this way." He bit down on my throat, hard enough that I feared he would break skin, but the pain only intensified the stirring in me. This scar, from the night he'd killed Candy, was stronger than the other. So much closer to my heart and he could pump me full of all the pheromones and endorphins he wanted.

My eyes closed tightly as his arms went around my waist pulling me flush against him. I remembered _this_ from that night as well. The way murder had turned him into a _randy_ demon. Then I'd been unable to stand it, despite the way it made me feel, but now…well I didn't feel anything _else_, and was open for the change.

Isaac pushed me back, laying me out on the mattress behind us and followed with a soft sort of growl. He grabbed the back of my thigh and pulled my leg up around his waist. Once I tightened it around him, he skimmed that wonderfully slender hand up across my backside and squeezed.

"I think I like this." He chuckled against my lips when I tried to kiss him. "Maybe we should do this more often."

"Don't count on it." I snapped, then reached up to grab the back of_ his_ neck and kiss him.

The vampire laughed again, but leaned into it, grinding his hips against mine. His tongue moved past my lips to find my own and dominate it. He ravaged me with his mouth, and it only left me hungry for more. There was something seriously wrong with me.

Isaac, leaned up, dragging me with him and his hand moved across my ribs to stroke my spine. I groaned softly when he began unlacing the corset faster than I could ever manage one handed. I thought idly that he must have had practice back in the days of petticoats and such. The idea made me smile.

That is, until the warm wetness of something seeped along my arm and trickled to my waist. I moved the hand that had twisted in the sheets and found it slick, and when I lifted it up it was dark red and thick. My gut dropped into the floor and my eyes went to the corpse lying right beside us.

Dahlia's eyes were still on me, though her face was now passive and empty. Her dull eyes however seemed more accusing now than they had before. What kind of person has sex in the blood of their victim? What kind of person was I that I had completely forgotten the shadow for even that _short _moment?

"Shit." I breathed, unable to look away from the dead girl's stare.

My thumb went to the warmth of braided gold around my ring finger, stroking it slowly as if it were a genie's lamp and would provide me answers. I needed to get away from the vampire and this body I'd helped him put here. Murderer or not, she was still human and I'd just helped him kill her, _told_ him to kill her in fact. How twisted was _that_?

"Cernunnos." I said his name before I'd really decided to call him. It just sort of slipped out but immediately the ring seemed warmer, like he'd closed his hand around mine and was pulling me toward him.

"What?" Isaac frowned, turning me toward him and reached for me, but it was too late.

The world seemed to ripple and warp around me and the pit of my stomach cramped. I gasped, wrapping my arm around myself and tried to keep from throwing up. It felt as if the world was twisting around my gut and then it was drawing everything in around it. Isaac shot backward, hands up and frowned looking confused, and I felt the edges of myself being draw into the vortex. I was like a collapsing star, folding in on myself.

My eyes slammed shut and I cried out and a roar of sound filled my ears, but there was no air to breathe anymore. My lungs ached, feeling as if they were collapsing in my chest and then, everything stilled and I slumped to the ground like a sack of sand, gasping.

"Mira? The deep voice was unmistakable. The god knelt at my side and lifted my chin. "Your heart is racing. Are you injured?"

I opened my eyes, shocked as always by to impossible anti-freeze green of his eyes. As I watched, the color seemed to swirl, like liquid in his iris. It snatched my attention completely until he arched a brow and grabbed my shoulders shaking me. He lifted me back to my feet, frowning.

"You are intoxicated." He said slowly.

"It was sort of necessary." I said, hiccupping and covering my mouth with a giggle. "It's helping me not break."

"You cannot be broken when I am close to you." He replied. I might have been curious about his meaning if I hadn't noticed the trees around us.

"Am I asleep?" I asked, moving away from him to inspect my surrounding. It looked like the forest Josep had attacked me in. Where Cern had stolen my soul.

"No." The god replied. He'd noticed my attire and was looking it over with an odd expression, almost like confusion. "I felt your spiraling, like you were lost, and pulled you here."

"Windsor?" I said

"Yes." He said distracted, then titled his head to inspect me with a frown. "Mira, why do you look eatable?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your attire." He said motioning to my latex pants and the corset, "You look like some sort of human candy. Forgive me, I do not know which human colloquialism to use so that you understand my meaning."

I nodded, laughing softly, but suddenly the laughing became a sob and I slumped forward. Cern was there to catch me, looking concerned and confused.

"What happened to you, little one?"

I rested my forehead against his strong chest, fingering the soft leather of his vest and closed my eyes.

"I did something horrible." When I looked back up at him he still didn't understand.

"I don't think I'm _human_ anymore."


	22. Extinguished

**Oh my, boys and girls, this PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Ok, when I posted the last chapter, I had intended to post this one directly after. There was never supposed to be a cliffhanger, and after reading all of your wonderful reviews, I've realized how the closing remark in the last chapter must have looked. It was intended to be a remark that Cern brushed off as Mira be her normal angsty, ridiculous self, but now seems blown out of proportion. For that I apologize.**

**For those of you who were excited about this new development, forgive me, but Mira is not a monster now. There is still much that is going to happen to this unfortunate girl, so be patient. She will have her moments when the time comes. Until then, here is the next chapter. A bit short but, the next one is really where it gets fun.**

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"_I don't think I'm human anymore."_

"I do not understand." Cernunnos frowned, holding me at arm's length to search my expression. "What has happened to you?"

"I told you. I did something ter…I…"my head hung a bit so I could stare at the ground and make sure it was still beneath my feet. Was this real? Had I_ really_ just…

"You are being intentionally vague, is it not as bad as it seemed now that I've pulled you away." He sounded irritated. "What is it you have done?"

"Isaac…" I began to blame the vampire, but couldn't, my chest tightened and I covered my face. I would have pulled away, if Cern didn't hold me so still.

"There was a girl, and Isaac had to…she died."

"All human's die. It is natural."

I glared up at him, jerking away and this time he let me, bright impossible eyes starring me down intently.

"This wasn't _natural_." I seethed. "She was _murdered_, and I…" I choked on tears I hadn't known were falling and shook my head. "I let it happen. I _helped_."

Cern let me stand in silence a long moment, before his hands brushed my skin again, warm and comforting, as if he could chase away the cold in me. When he cupped my cheek, I leaned into it, closing my eyes.

"You are still as human as you ever were, little one." He said softly, lifting my face to search my eyes. "This girl, did she hurt you?"

"She tried." I answered miserably.

"And you defended yourself." He reasoned, still so calm, so confident and stable. Why couldn't I be so incredibly collected? Why couldn't_ I_ handle the things around me, like the other monsters?

"It doesn't matter!" I cried suddenly, slapping away his hands. He didn't seem to mind, and only continued to watch me. "Why is everyone so convinced that they can rationalize this? It was _murder_! She cried and she screamed and fought, just like I would have done, and the second she hurt me, I told Isaac- I **told** him- to kill her. Is that rational? Is that acceptable?"

Cern titled his head, his expression remaining damned neutral, but didn't reply, so I raged on.

"I shouldn't have done that, Cern. I shouldn't have even_ considered_ it, regardless of how angry or hurt I was. Murder should never be an option, and I just…" I hung my head again, dragging hands through my hair and gripping it until it hurt before I glared back up at him.

"_You_ did this." I seethed. "You took me away, you broke me and the crack won't stop spreading. How long until I've become someone else, someone_ cruel_? Will I even _recognize_ the change when it comes? Will I _know_ that I'm a monster?" I kept my head down, letting my hair hide my face from him while my eyes found the small pouch on his belt. So innocuous, a simple little bag, and yet inside it held my last hope at remaining human.

Cern replied softly, but I could hear the amusement in his voice. Amusement at _my_ expense. "And what will you do now, little Mira? How will you move on if I have so thoroughly ruined you?"

I looked up at him, eyes narrowed, though he only smiled that small mocking grin of his and the anger became foolish hope.

"I'll save myself."

My hand was on the pouch before he knew what I intended, and by then it was too late. I jerked it away, ripping the tie from his belt and ran the opposite direction. I don't think it could have ever worked, if Cern hadn't been so incredibly shocked by my boldness. He only stared after me, expression unreadable, and by then it didn't much matter. I didn't know where I could possibly run, the forest was dark, and I could never find my way out of it even if I tried, but I kept going. My best plan was to find a place to hide, just long enough that I could stuff my soul back into its place.

Assuming I could at_ all_, but that was a problem I would deal with later.

I think I nearly peed myself when the first arrow whizzed through the tips of my hair and into the tree beside me. For a long moment I couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but stare at the arrow that would have impaled my face had I not been in motion. Had Cern really done this?

"You actually tried to hit me!" I said aloud, too shocked to keep it silent, "You _bastard_!"

I heard the creak of another arrow being notched and took off just before it impaled the tree at my other side. More arrows flew, so fast I was sure there had to be more than one person shooting. If Cern hadn't been a God, it would have been impossible. He was, after all, the God of the Hunt, and now it seemed I was his prey. Not a comforting thought.

The trees parted for a small clearing, where the moon shone down so brightly it illuminated everything around me. Being in open space with a madman shooting at my back was not a good idea, but I had little choice, and knew I could never make it should I turn back, so I dashed on. Against the tight resistance of my latex pants, and the unyielding hold of my corset, making my breath come in shallow ragged pulls, I ran. And then there was the whizzing sound of another arrow shaft tearing through the air, and I turned just in time to see it break through the foliage and bury itself in my upper thigh. The force of the arrow sent me hurtling to the side, and the pain was so intense, so all-consuming that I screamed, falling into the grass and clutching at the draw-string pouch as if it were my life-preserver. And in a way I knew it was.

I tried to crawl away as I heard Cernunnos enter the clearing. Usually, in his home-made leather boots, even running was silent. But now, as I clutched at my soul and dragged myself along the ground, he _wanted_ me to hear him. The sound of _punishment_ approaching. Cernnunos grabbed my ankle when I continued to crawl from him, and suddenly I had left the ground and was flying through the air. The ground slammed back up against me with enough force to knock the air from my lungs and I was left gasping desperately for oxygen.

He'd _thrown_ me. Like a doll, as if I were nothing, and I suppose to him, I was. How very small I must have looked to the god.

Rolling onto my back, I fought to draw a deep breath, then promptly froze when the angry god approached. He moved fluidly onto one knee above me, his absinthe colored eyes positively seething with rage, the color swirling restlessly as I watched. I opened my mouth to explain, but he grabbed the shaft of the arrow and, without pause,_ twisted_.

My scream echoed around the clearing, sending a flock of darkly colored birds off into the darkness, though I didn't know what birds would be doing out this late. When I'd dissolved into wracking sobs, he leaned in closer.

"It is not wise," his voice was a quiet rumble of distant thunder, "to anger a God, Mira." I blinked, swallowing my tears and tried to melt into the forest floor.

"To _steal_ from one indicates only that you yearn for death." He shifted the arrow in my flesh, watching impassively as I hissed in pain. "If that is the case, I can assure you, it will be a_ slow_ one."

"I don't like this!" I cried, taking a ragged breath.

"That is the purpose of pain." He replied evenly.

"No, I mean," it was difficult to think past my agony, the wound burned as if the arrow had been tipped in acid, "this…_emptiness_." What other way was there to describe it? "I can _feel_ it now, Cern. I can feel the hole and it's spreading! I can feel the absence of what you ripped out of me and…it's…"I trialed off, clutching the pouch to my chest with white knuckles.

Cernnunos leaned back enough to give me room, his expression, as always, was impassive. Blank if not for the swirl of emotion I saw in his eyes, but they were far too intense to hold long enough to read it.

"I cannot feel your loss, nor understand its pain," he lifted my chin, non too gently, to find my eyes again, "But neither will I return what is rightfully mine."

He continued over me when I tried to argue.

"I have severed you from your mortal _inadequacies _and you should be _thankful_ for their absence." His eyes narrowed slightly in warning, "I could tear away your free will just as easily. However, without _that_, my interest would quickly fade."

In other words, he liked his pets to challenge him, but only within reason, and only when it concerned matters he was willing to discuss. Should my occasional challenges fade to complete submission, he would tire of me.

I wanted to scream.

The ache, however, was ever-present. The lack of what he'd stolen was starting to blur my black and white ideals. I was becoming too comfortable with the thought of human death. Isaac said Cern had taken my humanity, but I didn't want to believe such things could be stolen. Then again, Isaac lacked that same piece of himself, being a vampire. How else could his kind so easily kill? Whatever the case, I did not like the idea of becoming anything like Isaac. The sadistic _bastard_, I refused!

"I don't like what it's doing to me." I began, intent on trying to convince him again, but without warning Cern pulled the arrow from my thigh with a cruel twist and my argument was replaced by a ragged, agonized scream.

"That is not my concern."

I grit my teeth, trying to stop my head from spinning as I glared at him. "That's bullshit! What could you possibly need it for-"

His fingers sank into the fresh wound on my upper thigh, and the sound that rumbled out from his chest was very much like a growl. It made me press back against the damp ground in hopes of putting any distance between us.

"You will watch your tongue; that is your _first_ warning. The second is that you have neither the need nor the _capacity_ to understand what it is I've done for you. I will not abide your questioning me."

I think I might have actually been seeing red then.

My anger was so strong. The desire to lash out nearly uncontrollable. I knew that he was a god, accustomed to unquestioning adoration, but I was not one of his followers, or his concubines. For all intents and purposes, it had become apparent that I was his slave, and not yet ready to give all to this new master. As if dealing with Isaac had not been enough. Despite all this, I held my tongue (admittedly afraid of more pain), as commanded, and let the god-king lift me into a sitting position.

"Give me the pouch and be thankful I allow you to _live_ for this treachery."

"Alright, Mr. Melodramatic." It slipped out, but he only frowned at me. After a moment, I let him pull the pouch from my fingers, feeling its absence even deeper having lost it twice. Cernnunos held it up for me to see and gave me a pointed look.

"I will hide this now, Mira. You will never again have even the opportunity to take it."

No! I wanted to groan, but didn't dare. This was it, my soul was lost. Cernnunos let me gaze at the innocent looking thing a moment longer before his hand closed around it and I watched as the light seemed to try and escape through his fingers. Then, with a dip in pressure that I could feel, and recognized as his power, the light was gone.

Extinguished forever.

Cernunnos turned his attention to my thigh, and brushed his thumb along the edge of the wound. "You do not feel it now because I have blocked that pain to keep you conscious, but my arrow shattered bone." He titled his head, "The arrow head is also coated in poison. It has already spread through your bloodstream and will take affect momentarily. I am disinclined to mend this."

This last bit was spoken as an afterthought. Far too blasé about any of this. For a moment, I only looked at him. Poison killed, or it could. He was threatening to let me _**die**_.

"I gave you the pouch back, can't you just-"

"You would have given me the pouch _regardless_. You cannot barter with what you do not own."

"Then," I grit my teeth, fear and pain giving way to anger as it always did. "What do you want?"

"This," Cernnunos nodded to the now empty pouch as he tied it back to his belt, "is important to me. In return, I will take something important to_ you_."

"_That_ wasn't enough?"

Suddenly, he shot forward and I found myself pinned back against the rough bark of a tree. The god-king's eyes seemed to glow in their intensity.

"Give me your body and I will tend you wounds."

For a moment, I only stared at him, half expecting him to smile or let in that it was a joke, but he didn't move and his expression was anything but comedic. I stared at him harder, searching for any kind of trick or trap, but he seemed to have been completely serious.

My jaw dropped. Was he really so low? Of all the degrading, terrible things he could have demanded in return for my life, and he opted for the most lecherous. Since when was his focus on sleeping with me? He was a god, and I had no doubt that finding a willing partner (especially with his breath-taking looks) wouldn't be a challenge. Then again, at the same time, if he wanted to punish me, this was a solid attempt. He was right, sex was important to me, in the idea that I got to _choose_ who I had it with. Now he was taking that away, as if it were a favorite toy and I were a bratty child.

He was doing this, not because he had to, but because it would_ hurt_ me.

"You slimy, lecherous son of a bi-"

Cern moved so quickly it was a blur, but I felt the arrow piercing my thigh clear enough. Right beneath the first puncture. His palm went to muffle my scream and he bared teeth that were slightly pointed like some sort of predatory animal.

"I _gave_ you your warning." He growled. I blinked away my fresh tears and nodded frantically. He continued to stare down at me a long moment, then slowly removed his palm and I sucked in a sob.

"Ok! You can have it. **Yes**, alright? Just…_stop_."

The god-king thought a moment then the pain from the arrow vanished and I watched as the arrow melted away as if it were made of mercury.

"This will not be pleasant." He said, placing his hand over my newest wound. Before I could question, pain worse than the stabbings had erupted in my thigh. My mouth opened for a scream, but the sensation vanished almost as suddenly as it began. When I looked down, the wounds were gone, smears of blood the only indication that they had existed at all.

The god-king stood then, snapping to indicate that I should follow suit, despite my growing rage I did, and he took hold of my arm.

"As much I as would like to conclude this deal, we have more pressing arrangements." Still clutching my wrist, he jerked me into movement and back toward the tree line.

"What kind of arrangement?" I asked with a frown.

"It seems my subjects have summoned me." He said simply.

"_Subjects_?"

He only smiled. "It is time, Mira, to meet the Fae."

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**And **_**you**_** thought he was going to be sweet, didn't you?**


	23. The Downfall of Nobility

**Ok, this here is a LOOOOONG one, so I don't expect you to read through it in one go…though if you did it's be cool. 7000+ words for your enjoyment.**

**I just couldn't stop writing and it all got out of hand. This chapter wasn't supposed to be _nearly_ this long, it just kept going, and it isn't even over! But tests are coming up and I don't know when I'll be able to post again, so I hope this is a hefty enough chuck of the story to tide you over.**

**Let me know what you think.**

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I don't know how we ended up in this part of the woods, or even that there had been a "this part". Cern had instructed that I walk behind him without bothering to threaten me should I try to run again. I knew he would catch me, just as I knew that once he did, the pain I'd felt before would be a welcome release from what he would do to me for my second strike.

As we tromped through the brush in what seemed a random direction, I felt that dip in pressure again, coming from Cern, like I'd just gone over the first big hill of a rollercoaster. My stomach knotted and then I couldn't look away from the ground. Only two seconds ago it had been covered in the first golden leaves of fall. Now the dead leaves were replaced with grass so green it seemed blue in the dusk light.

The trees too were different, strong and tall, _healthier_ it seemed. _Everything _was healthier here. Then there were the flowers. There wasn't a single pastel color in the bunch, though they grew in patches everywhere. Most were dark tones, and in shapes I'd never seen. In fact, everything here seemed out of place, as if half the original plants in the forest had been ripped out and replaced with genetically perfected, exotic breeds.

I was ready to chance asking the god about it, but something floated out of the trees ahead of us and interrupted me. It was music, I realized, soft at first, then louder as we continued forward. The first sounds confused me. It was beautiful music, which could not be argued, primal in its heavy drums, and enticing with the seductive sounds of violins, but that wasn't it. Like the trees it seemed a mixture of all the world. There were moments when the melody was distinctly oriental and then it would shift flawlessly into something from the temples of India. As the music weaved between cultures, and though I was no expert in music, I found myself thinking that it was the most complex and beautifully composed piece of music I'd ever heard.

Up ahead of the surly god I saw the flickering tips of a great bonfire. I might have panicked if the trees hadn't opened up around us into a tremendous clearing, the fire at its center. Instead I went rigidly still as I took in what populated the clearing and felt as if my knees were giving out under me. I blinked a few times just in case, but nothing vanished and I was forced to accept that it was all real. Scattered about the clearing were groups of people - **No**, only some of them looked human, the rest were very obviously _not_.

The branches above us shifted and I jumped, snapping my head back so hard it hurt. The light was still dim, but it was the only reason I spotted him. I knew it was a "him" by the startlingly direct view of his package as he crouched down in the tree to watch me curiously. Every creature here seemed to be in various states of undress, and some, like this one, were simply naked.

It wouldn't have bothered me too much if his eyes hadn't been too big for his face and blinking the wrong way. His skin was a pale sort of yellow until it came to his chest which was colored in tones of red, orange, and gold, like the flashy coloring of a bird. The creature made a strange, deep noise, akin to the cooing of a pigeon, then dropped from the tree in a whirl of wind and feathers. His wings had been visible for only a second, reaching the span of his arms, and now seemed to have vanished into his skin. Now that he was closer, I saw that in the short messy spikes of his bronze-colored hair, feathers had grown as well. Black, red, and gold that covered the back of his neck and shoulders in soft down feathers. Cern, who hadn't cared until the creature blocked his path, gave a soft growl, and with an avian screech, the thing exploded back into the sky heading for the other side of the clearing.

Cern allowed me to cling to him for comfort after that, seemingly too absorbed in the celebration going on around us. We continued to walk into the clearing, the creatures parting like the red seas for their god, and I tried not to have a panic attack as this mind-blowing trip to Wonderland became a nightmare.

To my right, a middle-aged couple sat facing one another. They were dressed for a romantic evening out, her in a saucy black dress and him a slacks and a dress shirt. One sleeve however had been torn at the shoulder, and he was sitting calm and silent as his woman carved a chunk of flesh out of his arm and fed it to him. Gagging, I realized her lower legs had already been stripped to the bone, colorful scarves wound through the exposed blood-stained calcium. They both seemed completely unaware of this fact, and though reality dictated that they should have both died from blood-loss, there they sat, taking turns removing pieces of each other for the amusement of the creatures around them.

I jumped again at the sound of the bird creatures and turned to find a small gathering of them. The one which had spoken (or whatever it was trying to accomplish with that noise) seemed to be female and colored more brightly than the first, this time in shades of purple and blue. Her chest was bare, breasts colored in blue and silver, and when she shifted the thing in her arms, that was mixed with red. The bird-creature gave another cry then twisted her too-long neck to tear into the man she'd been gripping. At the same time a male bird-creature swooped in to join her, pulling at the loosely hanging arm until it tore from the body and he flew away to eat it.

All around me was that thrilling, confusing music, and the animal calls of beasts I had only dreamt of, and some I could have never imagined. The air was filled with cheers, laughter and sobbing, and I felt as if I might collapse from fright alone.

"What is this?" I murmured, but was ignored by the god as he led me through the clearing. By now the Fae were taking notice and all seemed to be quieting as he approached a natural stage of sorts in the earth and greeted the few creatures that had dared gather there. Some fled to the other side of the stream that ran right along the edge of the stage, but most were comfortable or curious enough to remain. The rest stared at me as if I were the first human being they'd ever seen. Some were even bold enough to close the path between me and Cern and trap me in the crowd.

I was frozen at first, starring at the one who had moved directly in front of me. A man, and clothed in dark red harem pants and a woven, gold vest, conceptually the same as Cern's. His feet were bare and clawed by thick, black nails, like his abnormally long fingers. He stared at me unblinking as he reached out to touch my hair, and when I flinched back his hand snapped out, just as fast, to catch me.

I yelped, afraid he would hurt me and the things around me moved back, glancing at Cern guiltily to see if he'd noticed. The bastard was busy speaking with a gaggle of female…_things_ all covered in shaggy fur that wasn't quite long enough to shield their multiple breasts.

I turned back to the twacked out Krishna-wannabe and his…whoa…_purple_ eyes and he smiled, moving too close to me again. I didn't have the ability to scream. Even when I tried, the creature tightened its grip in my hair and rendered me mute again.

It seemed to be scaled, like a lizard, along its hairline and the backs of its arms. All black like the claws. Like the ridges that lined his sharp cheekbones and that disappeared into his tightly bound black hair. The creature didn't release my hair and now the other things I couldn't see were closing in around me. I felt things tug and prod at my bondage clothes while the creature held me still, starring silently and close enough to bite me if he wanted to, which I hadn't quite assessed yet.

Something with tiny needle-like claws ran them along the exposed flesh of my thigh as if feeling for the wounds and I tried to twist away, finding myself held still by more things in every direction, meeting fur and feathers, and scales. Everything had grabbed its piece and was inspecting as much as it could.

"Ganesh. _Off_." I heard the boom of Cernnunos' great voice and the Indian creature flinched, releasing my hair and spinning around as the others skittered off into the gathering crowd. The moment I could move my head again, everything kicked back into motion and I dashed to Cern's side with a frightened cry though he grabbed my arm just as harshly as they had and growled that I "behave myself lest he lose his temper again."

Asshole.

Now that the Fae weren't suffocating me I could see all of the raised ground, like a dais and at its center, placed to look over all of the clearing, was a great, knarled tree stump. Not just any remarkably huge tree stump, mind you, this one had been grown, with obvious help from Cern, into a _chair_. The stump was molded with a seat and the smooth bark behind it rose proudly upward as if reaching for the stars. It was his thrown, I realized, and it was _growing_ out of the _ground_. Apparently, he was a God-_King_, at least in his mind.

Cernunnos stood before his thrown, standing tall and proud before his followers and for just a moment he seemed to draw in the light of the bonfire and release it through his skin. I stared, at him and the creatures flocking toward us as Cern took his seat, pulling me to my knees beside the thrown like a dog. The bastard even ran his fingers through my hair. I would have argued this if it weren't comfort I desperately needed.

It seemed no words were needed between the god and his Fae. They gave a great cheer for him, bowing, or attempting to do so in the various shapes they'd been molded into, and then they returned to their games with fervor.

Cern's fingers slipped away from my hair and I watched him sit back in his thrown. Funny how masculine his posture was. He reminded me of Captain Kirk lounging in his captain's chair on deck. I took a moment to appreciate this, catching his eyes only once before he was back to gazing out at his people.

Well…person. _Female_.

The Fae was tall and willowy with pale, nearly iridescent skin and veins that from here seemed red. She wore only a sheer, golden length of clothe that draped around her, not that it covered anything. She was watching Cern from her place by the fire, and had moved directly into its light, running her hands along the dark silhouette of her body beneath the fabric. The god's mouth tipped up ever so slightly at the corner and she grinned widely, spinning back into her dance for him.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to the human she's been dancing with. He was handsome, with olive toned skin and straight black hair that had been bound tightly by more golden fabric. He wore loose-fitting linen pants and no shoes, swaying to the music as if in a trance. His upper-body was covered in dark tattoos, all curling around his chest and down his arms and symbols like the ones I'd seen around Josep's cabin door. At least I thought they were tattoos, until I realized the dark color was oozing down from the lines when he moved. The Fae woman laughed, spinning wildly and stopping behind the human. She reached around him to run a long-nailed finger along the decretive lines of his chest. When he flinched, she only chuckled, and used her nail to carve a new line into the rest of the pattern.

"For you, my lord."

The soft voice made me jump, clutching at Cern's boot. The thing that had spoken was short, hardly the size of a child, with a chubby, angelic face and tightly curling dark hair across his head…and his legs…which weren't legs at all. His knees bent the wrong way and where he should have had feet, there were small cloven _hooves_. I looked at Cern in disbelief before turning back to the creature.

A satyr! A real live satyr and it was right in front of me! I felt as if I'd been thrown into the land of Grimm fairytales. Which, _score one for me_, I was now thankful for reading. Now I knew to watch my back, if tonight hadn't sunk that one in far enough.

The satyr, who spared me an arched look for my reaction, held out a silver goblet to his god with a bright, child-like smile. The metal had been etched in more of those strange symbols, but I didn't have time to inspect them as Cern took the goblet and drank deeply.

"The ceremony begins with your word, my lord." The satyr bowed as Cern gazed out at the Fae. "Your children have been lost in your slumber."

"It was not my intent to leave you so long, Komos, but it was necessary." Cern handed the goblet back to him without looking away from the celebrating fairies. "This world has changed since last I saw it."

"Many things have changed, great Cernnunos." The satyr, Komos (what a weird name) glanced at me and offered a smile, "but that is the way of this world. Change is constant _and_ necessary."

Cern nodded, but it was obvious he wasn't really listening, not that the Komos minded. He seemed focused on me now, which I wasn't completely comfortable with. Glancing at his lord, he inched closer and handed me the silver goblet with an encouraging smile, motioning that I take drink. I arched a brow, and looked down into the cup, breathing in the aroma inside. Sweet like berries and exotic fruit and the warm carmine pink color of roses. Figuring with all the other things they did right around here, wine would be the best, I lifted the goblet to my lips and began to drink.

Cernunnos, seeing this, suddenly grabbed the goblet and jerked it from my hands before I could taste it. A threatening growl rumbled from deep within his chest and the satyr fled with his tiny deer-like tail between his legs. I however, starred up at him in confusion and a little irritation. Was I not allowed to enjoy thing like everyone else? Did he intent for me to just sit here? Seeing my angry, he decided to explain.

"You must never consume that which has been created by the Fae." Came his simple reply, but I scowled at him.

"Why not?" It sounded familiar, like something I'd read as a child, but I wasn't up to speed on my fairy tales nowadays. Even though it was becoming obvious I should be.

"Any mortal being who consumes our food or drink is bound, eternally to this wood, and any other home of the _fair folk_. Accept all, so as not to offend, but consume _nothing_." He motioned to the couple I'd seen before. They were still merrily mutilating one another, the woman now threading gold and red scarves through the exposed bones of her man's arm while he fed her a piece of himself. Each was laughing, but even from here I could see the gleam of the fire light reflected off their tears. They were in pain, but could not, or _would_ not stop.

"You see the mortals here, who have violated those rules, and others. These are the souls that wandered too far from the path or were led here. They stole from us or stumbled upon this wood, and once they have seen us, they are never to leave. They are now the playthings of the Fae."

"And you're fine with this?" I asked, with more than a little acid in my tone. "You just let them torture all those people?"

The god-king laughed, and the things that gathered in the shadows and trees around us snickered as well.

"I do not _let_ them do anything." He said, glancing out at the creatures so that they fell silent. "It is not my place to rule their every action. I do not command them, Mira. I am bound to the laws, just as they are."

"But you're…aren't you the fairy king or something? Oberon of the new age?"

Cern shook his head, a twinkle of humor in his impossible eyes, "I am no Oberon, child, and this is not a pretty, human fairy tale. Here, death and pain are understood and accepted." He chuckled, "Your world is not as benign as you wish it to be."

I took a long, composing breath, deciding it was better not to argue further now. He seemed to have chilled quite a bit since we'd gotten here, but I was in no hurry to piss him off and get myself stabbed again. Or worse.

"Relax, little one," Cern smiled as he leaned back into his throne again, brushing the hair from my face. "Remain at my side and you will find no threat here."

"Only from you," I replied before I could stop myself. His fingers in my hair tightened and I held up a placating hand as the things hidden in the brush around us began to whisper amongst one another. Chittering, high pitched sounds and strange almost-human replies, none of it in English, and it all set me on edge. Hoping to calm him again, I nodded toward the Fae.

"What is all this?"

Cernunnos released my hair with a resigned sigh and settled back into his throne. He gazed out at the great bonfire and the Fae swaying and dancing to the endless beautiful music. The smoke that rose from the flames was tinted red and smelled of spices and when the wind sent it over us it made my head a little fuzzy.

"This is a Bacchanalia in my honor."

"Shouldn't Bacchus be here then? I heard these were reserved for his crew. Also that these were orgies."

Cern arched a brow, either irritated or not quite understanding my words, "You heard wrong." He said simply, then motioned toward the dancers, "It is a celebration of pleasure and excess in honor of my return to Windsor."

"Return?" I asked, fanning away more of the scented smoke, for all the good it did.

"Like the others of my kind, I have slept away the centuries. It became…_necessary_ to wake."

"So there are other gods around?" I asked, feeling equal shocks of excitement and fear. He noted this with a tiny smirk and nodded.

"Once there were many. Ours was a race _strengthened_ by the ritual and praise of Man. His blind devotion was kindling to our power."

"What happened?"

Cernunnos looked up at a sky unaffected by pollution and its billions of stars, taking a slow breath.

"Man slowly forgot his gods and moved to a nameless deity he had created for himself. One he was free to defy and forget at his leisure, and without his ritual and sacrifice, some of us forgot how it was we had survived in the first place. Those who did, grew weak and eventually faded into time. The few who remain have scattered. They hide in their old temples and hidden cities with the remnants of their followers, or slumber in hopes that Man will call to them again."

"But not you." I said, looking him over as if he wore the secret sown to his clothes. The god-king chuckled, reaching out to stroke my cheek thoughtfully.

"_Never_ me." He replied, "I still have my followers here, those who know beyond a doubt that I exist and therefore cannot forget me."

I laughed, "So you cheated the system."

He continued as if I hadn't spoken, but smirked all the same, "There is also a number of my flock in your human world, those who pray to me for guidance or greed. I slept to quiet the tedium of eternity, but it bored me just the same."

I wanted to ask about the other gods. Which ones had been strong or (in Cern's case) smart enough to withstand time? Which had faded? Part of me wondered if I'd ever meet them…if I already _had_. Cern, however, had other things in mind.

"Enough prying, little one," he said with a wicked grin, "This is a celebration, honor me with a dance."

"I can't. I-"

"_Dance for me, Mira_."

Before I could refuse again, I was on my feet. The music wasn't something I was used to, or had ever heard before in fact, but somehow, my body knew the steps. I moved in a languid pace to the heavy drums, then my arms slowly rose into the air, twisting like serpents in the growing haze of red smoke.

The smoke was denser than it should have been, and hugged close to me like warm fingers. Suddenly I wasn't mortified by the fact that he had control of my body, instead I was starring down at myself.

It seemed that my clothes were melting off.

The gleaming latex of my pants beaded like mercury and rolled off my legs to puddle and eventually evaporate in the grass. Meanwhile my corset seemed to have skipped a step and was simply evaporating in curls of smoke that mixed with the red tinted haze. I tried to speak, to cry out in indignation and humiliation, but my voice had been stripped away, and my mouth refused to obey me.

I had drawn attention in the crowd while I danced away my clothing. Some jeered and laughed, others whistled and called out words I didn't understand. I would catch sight of Cern when I spun; sitting calmly back and watching me with an expression I couldn't translate without scrutiny.

The music changed, becoming slower, primal again, and as it did, so changed the wind. It spun the smoke from my clothes and the fire around me like a whirlwind until I couldn't breathe. And then something was pouring down my skin, like water. I looked down to find a thin, pearlescent material bleeding down my torso and replacing the melted corset. It slowed as it coated my arms, becoming just a touch more translucent than I would have liked as the wind dried it into light fabric.

I gazed up at Cern, watching indifferently from his thrown, and could hardly think straight. The thick liquid got to my hips and began to stretch toward the ground in ribbons, all at different lengths, that dried quickly and fluttered around me. Wind whipped up under the dress and separated the material, making it ripple like clothe, but it molded back to my skin just and quickly, and appeared to harden like glass.

The crowd cheered again, ooh'ing and laughing and speaking that incessant alien language while I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. Everything was so loud and moving so fast that I couldn't think straight. The wind whipped my skirt and the thousand ribbons of glass came back to life, rippling in the air before lying still and hardened again. I lifted my hands, and plucked at the tight sleeve of the dress. It was soft to the touch like cashmere, but flawless and glossy as glass the moment it was still.

"What the hell is…"I felt like I'd just been thrown into a movie directed by Salvador Dali. Then it occurred to me that I'd been speaking and moving without any resistance. Just as I realized I'd regained control over my body, the music swelled again and I was a puppet again. It was different than before. Now my movement held rhythm, timing. Each had a meaning, like a prayer, spoken with my body.

And all for _him_.

The Fae had joined my dancing around the fire, and those that could not played the enticing music or began the whispers of a chant. It steadily grew, until I could make out the words, but not their meaning.

"_Eko, Eko, Azarak_."

Cern's eyes fell closed a moment and he took a deep breath. When he opened them again his irises seemed to be glowing. Or was it all of him? It was as if he were set to a dimmer switch, with light steadily brightening beneath his golden skin.

"_Eko, Eko, Zomelak_"

My dancing, along with all the others, was growing faster. The music was wild now, fervent and crazed and demanding and we threw ourselves along with it, unable to help the infectious exhilaration.

"_Eko Eko, **Cernunnos**_."

And then the music stopped and an excited murmur swept the crowd. I closed my eyes, feeling my body collapse with the ending of the song, arms thrown out above me and head down before Cernunnos as if I were praising him. Breathing heavily, I pushed myself up to glare at the god who had puppeted me. He only flashed a seductive smile and stood, raising his arms out to the Fae, and speaking the closing line of their chant, to applause and animal cries of joy.

I let them all cheer and continue their celebration alone; unable to stand for shock of how easily I had lost control of myself. I remained on the ground, simply breathing. He had just slipped into me and taken over; like I was a suit he wore for his follower's amusement. I felt violated and used…and just a touch more afraid of him than I had been before.

As the crowd quieted and returned to their festivities, Cern moved to my side, crouching down to sweep the hair from my shoulders and trail his fingers lazily down my spine.

"Do you like your dress?" he asked, humor coloring his passive tone. He knew I was angry with him and the bastard found it funny.

My voice was a little breathy as he helped me back to the cushioned place beside his throne and sat down. "I would have liked it more if I hadn't been naked in front of the fu-friggin' world."

He smirked at my attempt to censor myself and swept one leg over the arm of his throne, lying out across it casually. "Do not be so prudish, Mira. It is silly custom fostered by your close-minded religious figures." He handed me a small cup, made of polished grey stone. "Relax, little one. Enjoy yourself for once."

I didn't take it and glared at him. "What is this, a test? I don't want that."

The god-king laughed, "This is not from the Fae. It is…"he paused to examine it a second, frowning at its strong smell. Even from here, I knew what it was.

"Whiskey?"

"Yes. I believe you favored it at the leech's bar." He handed it to me and took the one offered to him by Komos, who had snuck back to the dais when I wasn't looking. "It is…interesting."

"It's also a bad idea." I said, setting it down in front of me. I could still feel the whiskey from earlier, more would make me foolish. Almost immediately a stubby legged, furry thing bounded forward and snatched it up. He was followed by several odder, stubby creatures who fought over the small amount of whiskey.

"Well." Cern said, arching a brow at the things and sending them scuttling back into the bushes with childlike peals of laughter. "it seems you're right."

My smile spread before I realized it and I opened my mouth to reply, but a murmur swept through the crowd. When I turned, the Fae had parted for three creatures. The first was a tall man who was dressed, to my surprise, like an average person, in a pair of dark jeans and an open button-down shirt. He was attractive, the way all of these creatures seemed to be attractive; in a harsh, _inhuman_ way. Too handsome, and the female beside him was too beautiful.

The female drug a bound human girl behind them forcing her to kneel when they reached the throne. She was one of the scarcely dressed Fae, with only a red and gold scarf that wrapped around her breasts and draped down her legs. When they looked up at their god, I saw that their skin, which had seemed only pale and human before, was colored with goldish-red markings, like tiny iridescent scales up the sides of their necks and down their arms. The male was the first to speak, bowing deeply and motioning toward the thin human hiding behind her long brown hair.

"For your gifts of protection, and for the love of all that follow you, we humbly offer you the remaining years of this human." He bowed again as the female piped in.

"We know we do not offer much, great king, but her soul is pure. The most befitting of a God." I looked between the two of them, glaring at the female. Her eyes were bright, and a strange orangish color, the irises swollen a touch bigger than they should have been. She caught my eyes a moment and smiled, but I couldn't hold them and turned to Cernunnos instead.

The god had righted himself in his throne, and now gazed impassively down at the human girl, arms bound behind her back and gagged with more of those stupid golden scarves. Her hair had been braided with gold ribbon and beads into an intricate design on the back of her head, and they'd dressed her like a maiden from medieval Europe, in a thin white dress that concealed nothing in the light of the bonfire. She raised her head timidly up to meet his powerful gaze and only managed to hold it long enough for him to nod.

Another excited murmur swept the gathered Fae as the pair went into motion. The male procured a serrated blade from one of his pockets that looked as if it were made of bone, and cut the human's hands from their bindings. Her wrists were quickly seized and held out at her sides, while he grabbed her hair and forced back her head.

"Cern?" I asked softly beside his throne, but he ignored me. "What's happening?"

The orange-eyed female took the blade from the male and smiled merrily up at Cern before moving to the side where she lifted the blade to the girl's throat.

"Oh my god." I breathed. They were going to kill her! Sacrifice her in the god-king's name as if this were ancient Rome. "No! Cern, stop them!"

This time her heard me and frowned. "I will do no such thing."

"But they'll kill her!" I hissed through my teeth standing up. The girl had begun to struggle, much to the amusement of the surrounding Fae. Her eyes swept over the crowd in panic, wide and glassy. The poor thing was terrified!

"Cernunnos, _please_!" I looked back to him as the Fae began to pull the blade across the girl's throat.

"**Halt**." His voice boomed out over the crowd, swallowing the music. Everyone went instantly still and the god turned a cold look on me.

"You would have me spare the life of this child?" he asked, nodding toward the muffled, sobbing girl. Thin rivets of blood trickled her throat where the blade had managed to cut, staining her white dress. Seeing this, I took a deep breath to steel myself and nodded.

"Yes."

Cern sat strait in his throne, hands one either armrest, and fixed me with a steady gaze. "You ask much of me human. This is _twice_ that you have demanded what, by all right, is _mine_."

"But she's only a kid!" I cried, not caring if the Fae heard me now, "You can't just-"

"**_Silence._**" he bellowed and the fire flickered as if shrinking away from him in fear. "You dare to tell me what I cannot do? Do you assume that as my consort you have the right to insult me?"

"No, I just-" but he cut me off.

"You grow bolder by the second, child. Mind yourself before I am forced to correct you."

"Fine! Geez!" I huffed, holding up my hands and trying not to melt under the intensity of his gaze. "Then we'll do it your way. Can't you give her to me instead?"

"There is nothing in this world that comes without price." He growled, "If you wish to barter for her life you must offer me something of equal value. _Lives_ are not cheap."

My attention went back to the girl, probably barely in her teens. She'd stopped struggling to watch us as all the others did. When her big brown eyes met mine, the hope there nearly broke my heart. I _had_ to do this.

"I'll give you my body." It had worked before, I thought, but my face warmed as the surrounding Fae began to laugh. To my utter humiliation, they howled at my expense and the girl's brow furrowed in fear. Cern's head fell forward a bit and he shook it before meeting my eyes.

"Your _body_ is not worth the life of another. Even if it were, it already belongs to me." He arched a brow "Do not insult me. What is your _real_ offer?"

"What do you _want_?" I asked, embarrassed and lost. He tilted his head slightly, searching my expression.

"For the life of this girl?" he thought a moment, still perfectly calm. Completely indifferent. "What do you treasure? I want what is _precious_ to you."

I shook my head, "I have nothing. All that I valued has already been taken." I thought of the hunters, of my family. My mother and father's smiles. My sister's laughter.

Cernunnos inclined his head. "Not all."

The god-king stood slowly, and started toward the girl. His movements were fluid, almost lazy, but the Fae gave him a wide birth. They knew firsthand how dangerous he could be. I never wanted to.

"You are noble, Mira, but you know not when to pick your battles." He approached the girl, lifting her slowly to her feet by her arm. "_Look_ at this child. What is she to _you_?" He walked her toward the dais until I could see the fine tremble in her thin frame. She was terrified of the god, not that I blamed her.

"Is her life really worth what it will cost you?"

I hung my head, "I can't just let her die." There were far too many deaths to my name as it was. Cern didn't look convinced.

"And if her death meant your happiness, what then?" I frowned ready to refuse but he continued over me.

"If I gave you the life of your loved ones, what _then_?"

The world seemed to still around me, "You can bring back my family?" I nearly whispered the words, fearing that I hadn't heard him correctly.

"Of course I can. One life for another; you would chose _which_ life."

"But…" my knees were starting to wobble. "You…you can just-"

"I cannot bring souls back to their original bodies if they are irreparably damaged or destroyed. It _is_ within my power to create** new** ones."

A murmur swept the Fae as Cern waited for my reply. He was testing me, I knew that. He wanted to see if I was really as noble as I acted, and didn't think I had the guts to go through with this anyway. But his offer…it was the one thing if wanted more than anything and he was waving it my face and laughing.

My chest began to tighten even as I considered the thought. I let it happen in my head; saw my mother once again at my side holding me, kissing my hair. My father strumming his guitar to put me to sleep though he knew I'd be too busy singing along. My little sister, smiling brightly as she always had in the face of everything, 12 years old with a spirit brighter than the sun. My vision swam with tears as I imagined what it might have been like to have my family back, then straightened my spine, trying to make my voice strong.

"I am not so selfish that I would trade an innocent's life for my own gain." I swallowed the lump in my throat and met Cern's frighteningly serious anti-freeze eyes. "My family is gone. I can't change that."

The god-king released the girl to fall back to her knees in the grass and crossed his powerful arms. "Then I will take what's left of them."

I didn't understand, "What?"

"Your _memories_, Mira. For the girl's life I will have the _memories_ of your loved ones."

I couldn't speak as a wave of fear took me. Though it sounded preposterous, I knew he _could_ do such things. If he _wanted_, he could reshape the stars, but it if he did…my memories were all I had left of my family. Their smiles and laughter were my anchor to the world, my reminder that it still held _some_ good.

The girl blinked away her own tears and gazed up at me pleadingly and I stared right back, feeling sick and hating her as I never had another person for what I was about to do. Even more I hated myself for a conscience that wouldn't allow the loss of an innocent life. Not like this. Cern might have taken my soul, but sometimes I could fight the dark. Distantly I wished that me humanity was already gone. That I could have let this go without hating myself, but it was impossible. Feeling sick with grief, I raise my eyes to the god and nodded.

He took a moment to accept that I was agreeing, and when he did he shook his head, his expression filling with pity. "You must say the words, Mira."

"I agree to trade my memories for the life of this girl."

He arched a brow, "_All_ of your memories?"

"The memories of my family." I corrected quickly. One had to be careful in such spoken contracts. He could have accepted as the jeering Fae seemed to be hoping, and left me a vegetable, but he didn't. For whatever reason, he pitied me.

Not enough it seemed.

"**Done**." Cernunnos said with a finality that made my head spin. I braced myself for pain, or the invasive feeling of fingers picking through my brain, but nothing changed. There was no pop, or flash, or indication that he'd just stripped pieces of my life away. Instead I stood there waiting, until fear and anger forced me to speak.

"I don't understand. "I frowned and the god-king have me a solemn look.

"Tell me about your father, Mira." He said gently, "How old was he?"

"He was…" but I trailed off. 30? 40? I had _no idea!_

"And your mother, what did she look like?"

I sucked down a breath, "She had…um…" I tried to picture her hair, but couldn't recall the cut or even the color. Did she have green eyes or blue? When she smiled, had it been shy, or had it lit up the room? The harder I tried to remember, the harder it became. There was _nothing_. They were completely _gone_.

"Oh god." I breathed as the world began to spin. _What had I done?_

The girl was lifted back to her feet; the gag pulled from her mouth and shoved my direction. I caught her automatically, but pushed away the moment she steadied herself, fearing that I might attack her. To distract myself, I spoke.

"What's your name?"

She gazed passed me to the God, but answered with a voice light and tinkling like Colette's. "Etain, miss." Then she turned her tear-filled eyes on me and wrapped her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder. _"Thank you, Thank you! _God_, **thank you**!"_

I couldn't respond, couldn't move. What was there to say? _You're welcome? Thank you for making my life that much harder to bear?_

The girl pulled back and moved as if to stand at my side, but her hands were…_stuck_ at my shoulders? She was jerked back into place when her fingers refused to release me. I scowled, pushing against her, but her grip only tightened.

"Cern!" I cried, but he only watched as the girl began to convulse, coughing harshly until red was splattered across her already blood-stained dress. We looked at each other in confusion a moment and then the world opened up beneath us.

Everything was moving and there was a roar in my ears that drawn out my own scream. Etain's eyes had rolled back into her head and her mouth had opened for a scream, but the sound that escaped was more like a strangled croak. Then she exhaled, and the breath was endless and seemed to come from the deepest part of her.

Like wisps of smoke, I watched, unable to move, as light poured out of her mouth, and as it did, her skin paled to a deathly grey. I sucked in a breath to scream again, but only succeeded in breathing in the light, and then I couldn't stop. It clawed its way down my throat, taking root inside of me.

I was sucking the _life_ out of her! When this realization finally came, it was too late to do anything. Etain's arms were shriveled remnants of what they used to be, and her face had become a sickly gaunt mask of deterioration. As the light disappeared into me, she gave a final soft cry, something that sounded like a breathless "_thank you_" before her body went limp and then, as if it had never existed at all, disintegrated into the wind.

I stood frozen a long moment, simply starring at the place the girl should have been, at the bits of dust that stuck to the fine hairs on my arms and shimmered in the firelight as they floated to the ground. Etain, I thought, or what was left of her, and then I looked up at Cern. "What just…I don't-"

"You wanted her remaining years, Mira. That was the bargain."

"No…Cern she just…why would you…" but I couldn't complete a sentence and after a few more attempts simply let out a sob. "You let me _kill_ her."

"Tell me," Cernunnos asked slowly, over the cries of his excited followers. "Was it _worth_ being noble?"

I couldn't answer him, couldn't do anything but stare into the dirt as he moved back to his throne. The Fae slowly went back to their festivities, leaving me to stumble down from the dais and toward the trees. I didn't know where I was going, but none of the creatures followed me. In fact they parted as I watched, eyes wide and starring sightlessly ahead. Was this what shock felt like?

_Was it worth being noble? _I thought, replaying his words over and over in my head.

**No**. It wasn't. It _never_ would be.

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**KOMOS - A young Satyr boy (satyriskos) who became the cup-bearer of the god Dionysos (in a role similar to that of Zeus' Ganymedes). He was the demi-god of festive banquets.**


	24. Comfort and the Temple

**BEFORE YOU READ THESE 8500 WORDS!**

**I urge you all to take a deep breath and please try to keep an open mind. Remember that all things have their purpose and this chapter is no different. For one it sets up a little bit for the possible sequel and for two…well "for two" I have a feeling you won't like very much.**

**All I can say is I'm sorry, and I know you might be a little mad at me, but hey that's how it's got to be. Trust that I know why it had to happen and where it's going and just…go with the flow.**

**Also I wrote a shit-load these passed two night, so damnit, cut me some slack.**

**As always, much love to ya, and PLEASE! Leave me some feedback, even if it's to tell me what a terrible, heartless, person I am. :D**

**Names pronounced**** - Jael (Jah-el) meaning: Hebrew for mountain goat, but referring to a hero in Myth**

**Meabh (May-ve(anyone else wonder how that works?)) meaning: Gaelic for Intoxicating**

**Adhene (Ad-he-knee) - A mostly mischievous fairy being. Also **_**Cloan ny moyrn**_**. (Isle of Man)**

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I had stopped at the tree line when I first heard the call.

"_Miiiiiiiira_." The voice was familiar and playful, sung rather than spoken, and it seemed to come from everywhere at once. I turned toward the dark forest, eyes still blurred from crying over my latest victim, and sighed. I couldn't think straight but I couldn't go back to sit at Cern's side like his obedient little dog either.

"_Come here, sweet thing. Come away from that monster_."

The words were soothing, more soothing than any voice I'd ever heard and I found myself moving toward the trees without thought of danger. Where else could I go? What options did I have?

What _else_ did I have to _lose_?

I was finding that suddenly, despite everything, I didn't _care_ anymore. The voice was right, Cern _was_ a monster and I wanted nothing to do with the god or his cruelty now or ever. I glanced back, only once to see him still in his throne at the edges of the fire, his eyes stealing the light and casting it off on his children in shimmering, metallic, green streams. He seemed more inhuman now than ever I had seen before, and it quickened my pace.

The fire was large enough to cast shadows on the forest floor as I walked. They danced and swayed around me as if they were a living thing. Pulling me along, carrying me to the voice and its promise of comfort.

"_Come here, Mira. Come quickly_."

I broke into a run then, stumbling once on a gnarled root but catching myself quickly enough. The farther I ran, the darker it got, until only the moon, full and larger than I had ever seen before, lit my path. It wasn't until I had stopped to catch my breath that I realized I could no longer see or hear the gathering behind me. I drew a labored breath and wiped at my eyes, leaning against a tree.

"Why do you cry, sweet thing?" this voice was different, female, but still soothing and trustworthy as a mother's. Something shifted the leaves of a bush to my right and I watched, frozen as the woman stepped into my sight. I knew her instantly, even in the darkness, as the Fae who had brought Etain to Cernunnos.

"You gave that girl away." I said harshly, no longer fooled by the softness of her tone. "You brought her to him to die."

"Only at her wish, dearest. Only to salve the girl's yearning for death." The Fae's expression was sad, her strange orangish eyes glittering as if full of tears, the irises swollen within her eyes. "She was so tired, you see. She wanted to end it; she had been here so _long_. Outlived _all_ that loved her."

I shook my head. "It was cruel." I argued, seeing the terror in Etain's eyes when I closed my own. Whether she had been trapped here or not, old or not, she was still dead.

"It was_ pity_." Came a reply from behind me. I jumped and spun to face the other. Orange-eye's companion…or brother. They _looked_ alike, had the same coloring, save his eyes. His copper gaze shimmered under the moonlight as he leaned up against the tree I had rested on. "She begged us to free her," he insisted gently, "Had we not given her to the god-king, she would have tried to end herself _again_."

I shook my head, but had no reply. I was too tired to argue anymore, exhausted really. My very bones ached and now that I was away from the fire, the bitter wind that swept around me made me shiver. Fae could not lie, I thought. I had read that somewhere. They could not lie but could bend the truth, but what they were saying seemed real enough. She had _thanked_ me as she died. The thought made me tremble harder.

"Are you cold, sweet Mira?" Jael asked, his brow furrowing in concern. I don't know how I knew his name, or hers, but they seemed to just pop into my head, as if I'd known them all my life. As if they had replaced the memories of my family.

"Look what the God-king has given her to wear," his sister chimed in. "She _must_ be." Then she smiled, tilting her head, "Would you like something, dearest? Something to warm you?"

"Drink this." Jael said softly and offered me a silver goblet encrusted with gems. I shook my head, not wanting to offend them.

"No, I'm fine thank you. I just need a moment."

"Nonsense." Meabh smiled tenderly. "Look at you, darling, the chill has made you white as death."

The wind bit against my skin and another shiver took me as if to punctuate her words. I drew my arms around myself, teeth chattering before I clamped them down and Jael chuckled softly.

"You mustn't be strong for _us_, Mira." He said and I found myself gazing quite intently into his strange copper eyes. "We know how hard this must have been on you, sweetling, we know you must be tired and hurt. Let us help you."

"Let us do what we can before the God-king rips you away again." Meabh insisted.

I didn't really know how to respond to this. My head was aching, my body felt like lead, and the lingering unsteadiness of the spiced smoke was still there. They didn't wait for my reply though, taking my silence for acceptance and moving toward me.

Meabh closed her arms around me, though I stiffened at the odd hardness of her skin, like she'd been carved from stone, like marble. She hushed me with a gentle murmur that became a song. I didn't understand the words, but the rhythm made me relax against her until I closed my eyes and rested my head against her shoulder. She was willowy and slight, but undeniably strong. I could feel it the way I knew Cern or Isaac were strong. In her arms, I felt safe and comforted. I felt as if Cern could not find me.

When I opened my eyes again I caught sight of Jael. He'd raised the goblet to his lips, though his eyes did not stray from mine as he drank. I didn't want to look away though. It was safe in those eyes, cold perhaps, the way metals always were, but still welcoming.

I watched him drink the contents of his goblet and set it down beside the tree, then he stepped forward. Meabh released me, though she continued her song. It seemed to fill the forest around me, winding in and out of the trees in a soft rhythmic pattern. I found myself leaning into Jael when he reached for me and letting him draw me against his firm chest. He smelled of night flowers and something distinctly male, and I took a breath of him, feeling every remaining ounce of tension leave when I exhaled.

"Poor thing," he murmured against my hair. "What the beast has done to you. How do you stand it?"

"I don't know," I replied softly, my voice hitching. "Everyone hurts me eventually. What point would there be in avoiding it?"

He pulled back to search my face with a frown. "No, Mira. You mustn't think this way. You must protect yourself from them."

I sighed wearily and gazed up at him, tracing my finger along the iridescent red marking along the side of his throat. "Can't _you_ protect me?"

His lips curled into a charming, pleasant smile and he took my hand, kissing my fingertips. "If you like, sweet one."

When he leaned down to kiss my forehead, his breath was warm and sweet. "Whatever you like, whenever you like it." I closed my eyes and he placed two gentle kisses on my eyelids, then my cheek, then the corner of my mouth and I shuddered at the feeling, looking back at him. The Fae smiled and his fingers slid around to cradle the back of my head before he bent down to brush a kiss across my lips. I drew in another intoxicating breath of him and grabbed at his shirtfront, noting with pleasure how soft and light the material was beneath my hands. His eyes slid to his sister behind me and then he let me pull him closer and smiled again in that oddly comforting way. What would Cern think of this? Of my choosing one of his _children_ over him? Would it make him angry? Hurt him?

I hoped for both.

When Jael kissed me again, it was gentle, gauging my reaction to him, but in my current state it wasn't enough. This was _my_ choice, my decision and no one else's. There was no beast here to use his strength against me, and to shape my life any way he chose. I needed to feel control, over _anything_, even for only a short while. I pushed into the kiss, gripping his shirt tightly and closed my eyes. At my silent pleading, he shed the gentility and claimed my mouth. I giggled against him, then drew back just enough to see his wonderful, beautiful face. There was a taste about him that made my mouth water, sweet like wild berries and yet…indescribable.

"What is that?" I asked licking my lips and finding the strange flavor there as well. He smiled again and traced the line of my throat with the tip of his finger.

"Rosewine." He replied simply. "Would you like some?"

I closed my eyes again, swaying with the constant, thrumming rhythm of Meabh's song and nodded, suddenly breathless. "Please?"

Meabh handed over the goblet from the ground and to my surprise it was now filled with the deep pinkish liquid again.

"But you finished it." I frowned, looking between them. Vaguely I realized that Meabh was no longer singing, though the song still filled the forest.

"Here, the cups are never empty." Jael replied and handed me the goblet, tilting it up to my lips.

I had no choice but to drink, and once it had touched my tongue, I found that I wanted nothing but that _anyway_. The wine was sweet and rich, and as I swallowed, it filled me with warmth like whiskey. Without the unpleasant taste, the feeling was wonderful.

"You're right." I murmured after finishing the goblet, "I _am_ warmer now."

Jael smiled and Meabh folded her hands on his shoulder, resting her chin there to watch me. Her orange eyes flashed with something…strange, but I had no time to wonder what that might be because the goblet was full again, and Jael was tipping it back up to my lips. Gods was it wonderful! The most amazing thing I had ever tasted and it seemed to grow better with each sip I took.

My head spun when I'd finished the second glass and I paused. There was something that Cern had said earlier, something about the wine. Something important. I tried to remember what it was but found myself drinking more and the thought slipped away.

"Slowly, darling," Meabh said with a tilted smile, "There is no need to rush. You have all the time in the world here. All the time you could ever need."

I nodded and drank down the remainder of the goblet, giggling when I looked down to find it full, as if it had always been that way. Then as I stared at it, the swirling rosy color, the wonderful smell, I found my thoughts wondering back to Cern. He had told me something, I knew it. I remembered the stern look on his face as he had. Was it a warning? A Threat? What had it been _about_?

"Go ahead, Mira. Drink your fill." Meabh encouraged, but I shook my head slowly.

"No, that was enough, thank you."

Jael took the goblet from me, resting a hand at the small of my back, and took a drink himself, then with a smile he leaned forward and kissed me. I could taste the wine on his tongue and when we came up for air I giggled again and stole back the goblet for another sip before leaning in to kiss him.

Meabh moved around us, to stand behind me, her hand coming around my arm to take the goblet so that I was free to move my hands to Jael's chest. I felt the firm tone of muscle, sliding them upwards and slipping the fingers of my right hand into his silky, golden hair. Between our passionate kisses, Meabh would give me more of the wine and I was happy enough to drink it, loving the way it was beginning to lift my body as if I weighed nothing.

"Can we do this forever?" I asked with a lazy smile, letting my head fall back to rest on Meabh's shoulder. Jael nodded, titling his head to regard me with an expression I couldn't translate, and stroked his fingers up the side of my ribs. The touch brought with it electric shocks of feeling and I shuddered in pleasure.

"For the rest of time, sweetling." And then came his sister.

"Forever and always, dearest."

And then the wind grew again and lightning split the sky, thunder crashing behind it loud enough to shake the very ground. I hardly would have cared if not for the next flash that illuminated the forest long enough for me to catch sight of the man standing only yards away.

Something growled, a beast so monstrous that Jael and Meabh cowered away from it, releasing me and dropping the goblet, though it didn't spill when it clattered to the ground. I noted this with a drunken giggle and swayed before catching myself against the tree beside me.

"_What have you done_?" the voice that came then was deep and furious. It cut through Meabh's ghostly song, killing the lilting music and leaving me with a distinct emptiness for having lost it.

"Nothing, great king." Meabh replied hastily, "We only wished to console the girl."

"She was so very heartbroken." Jael added, "We thought it would please you to see her smile again."

My eyes went to them; both had knelt on the forest floor, Meabh's head bowed respectfully while her twin gazed beseechingly at his God. When I turned to Cern, however, I felt only contempt. Hatred even. It felt good knowing that he had caught us and I wondered how deeply it stung. Assuming he cared at all.

"Come here, Mira." He growled, holding out his hand, but I scowled at it and stood my ground. Seeing this, his eyes narrowed, brightening the strange glow they emitted and turning his mask of rage into something truly frightening.

"**Now**!" he boomed and I shrieked as what felt like hands knotted themselves in my hair and wrapped around my wrists, dragging me toward the god-king. I dug my heels in the dirt but it was no use. When I'd reached him, the hands forced me to my knees in the dirt, holding me immobile so that the god could gaze down at me.

"I_ warned_ you." He seethed, every muscle on his golden body taught and trembling with anger. "I_ told_ you what would happen should you consume anything here. What were you _thinking_?"

"We gave her nothing she did not ask for, great king," Meabh said hurriedly.

"She begged." Jael finished with a sly smile when I turned to glare back at them. He winked at me before turning his eyes back on Cern. I'd said please, yes, but that hardly constituted begging!

_The Fae cannot lie. They can only bend the truth._

I turned back and let my head hang forward, it was so heavy, but looked back up as Cern spoke again.

"This mortal is not for your games." He hissed. "She is _mine_ to do with as _I _wish. Not **you**, Jael. You know the law."

"And we have not broken it." The Fae replied smoothly, seeming unaffected by the god's rage, though his sister was still bowed and cowering. "The girl left your protection, she wondered off the path. Then she begged for the wine and took it from me before I was able to stop her."

"It was only curiosity." Meabh added meekly, "We just wanted to see what made this one so special. What could have drawn _you_, king of gods, to want her so?" Her face lifted and her smile was wicked and evil, "We would not have hurt the girl. Poor, _helpless_ thing."

"Enough." Cern snapped. "Do not twist the truth with me. You forget who taught you such things. Now you dare to steal what is _mine_?"

She glanced nervously at her brother, then smiled, though the expression was strained. "We have no intention of keeping her, of course, great king."

He laughed harshly, a frightening sound given the situation, and the Fae flinched. "Of _course_." He repeated. "You would have left her to the others in the dark to dispose off." She began to argue, but he cut her off. "Slumber has not made me stupid, _Adhene. _Perhaps you will understand this better in the _cage_."

Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. The air charged with electricity and a shiver passed down my spine at the feel of it. Of Cern's power, heavy enough in the air I felt it pressing me down in the dirt. I could even taste ozone on my tongue.

The shadows that had seemed to come from the firelight moved impossibly, twisting like serpents across the ground and around the knelt Fae. Meabh tried the escape the shadows, but everywhere she turned the were waiting. I watched, morbidly fascinated as she swatted at the darkness, but rather than resting her fingers on solid ground, _she went through it_. At first it was just her hand, and she fought like a wild-woman to free it, but eventually the shadow caught her other hand and her leg, and then it was creeping up her body, coating her like tar and she was sinking down into the forest floor. She sucked in a breath to shriek, but the oily blackness crawled down her throat and pushed into her eyes. Meabh's scream was swallowed by the ground before she could make it, and suddenly she just wasn't there.

I saw Jael's fists tighten and pale in anger of his own and he let out an animalistic hiss, baring teeth I realized were sharp as razors. Not only that, but when I looked closely, I saw that there were _two_ distinct rows of teeth in his mouth, like a _sharks_. Somehow though, it did not frighten me, but made me wonder how I had not noticed them before. Did he retract them like a vampire?

"I am no fool, Jael, whatever Meabh planned for Mira was at _your_ behest." Cern said coldly, "Separation from your sister is punishment enough, but I will have the lives of every soul you have claimed for this treachery. Perhaps without their voices in your head, you may listen to logic instead." He glanced once at me with a tiny smile, "It is never smart to steal from your God_, is it,_ Mira?"

The Fae gazed at him with widened, furious eyes, the iridescent markings along his skin growing a deep angry red. His jaw set tightly, he reached into the front of his shirt and drew on a thin gold chain until an intricate gold locket emerged. His finger stroked across the rounded knotting of gold bands and they slid apart, letting the locket fall open. Inside was the same bright light that I had seen of my soul when Cern stole it away but these lights flickered and throbbed, ever-moving within their cage.

"And what will you do with them, great king?" Jael asked stiffly watching as the lights danced merrily out of the locket one after another at dizzying speed and raced to the hand Cern had outstretched. I lost count around 30 and decided it was best not to think about it.

In response the god closed his hand around the gathered light and I watched as they blinked out as if they had never been at all. This made the Fae go still and he fought to keep from barring his shark-like teeth again. Then after a moment to steady himself, he looked at me and titled his head.

"And what of the Law?" he asked slowly, "What becomes of the girl?"

Something in the way he asked let me know that I'd better hope I wasn't kept here. Cern spared me a distasteful glance, then narrowed his eyes at his subject.

"She is mine and remains mine. As such, I give her freedom to leave this wood."

"And..um," I cleared my throat, "When exactly can I do that?"

His eyes, now slits of fury that made me cringe back, slid to me in warning. "When I have _finished_ with you."

"Oh?" I squeaked, feeling a cold slice of fear shoot to my gut.

"Do _not_ think that as my consort you are free to defy me, Mira. You will _pay_ for this, just as he will."

"Wait." I said with a nervous laugh, "Define _pay_."

Jael laughed at that, but the sound faded as Cern continued to glare at me. The forest began to wave around us. It warped and changed out of the corner of my eyes and when next I looked down I found myself on a glossy black marble floor. There were flecks of gold in the marble that caught the flickering light of the torches along the dark stone walls around me and sent shimmering bits of light out into the gloom.

Beautiful though it was, and as curious as I was at how I had found myself in this place, I was more concerned with the god and the way he had not looked away from me. I snuck a peek up at him, only to feel a pang of startlingly strong fear at the sight of his expression, and returned my eyes to the floor. When I cleared my throat and moved to stand the invisible hands from before returned to slam me roughly back into place.

"You will remain on your knees." The god said in a voice like a frosted blade.

"Sure." I said, swallowing hard, "Not a problem."

As the silence stretched on, I grew restless and licked my lips nervously, trying to look at him through my hair. The god moved then, slowly across the room toward me, the sound of his boots on the marble like the drumming at an execution. As he moved closer, I drew into myself. The incredible feeling the wine and smoke had given me was not gone, and I felt my head still swimming though the serenity and fearlessness had now vanished. How could I face him when I was this intoxicated and high?

"Cern," I began questioningly, but he cut me off with a growl like an animal.

"Not another word girl, or I will remove your ability to speak completely."

_Shutting up now. _I thought with a gulp.

Then, without warning, the god grabbed the front of my dress and hauled me up to my feet by it. I made a short startled noise, but didn't dare object as he dangled me in the air, absinthe colored eyes swirling furiously.

"_Why_?" he asked, "Why at every turn must you defy me? Why can you not trust that I do everything in _your_ best interest? At the very least, trust that if I _wanted_ to hurt you, I would have **done** so."

"Are you going to hurt me _now_?" I asked before I could stop myself and Cern bared his teeth, then dropped me.

I hit the ground hard enough to force the air from my lungs, but wasn't down long enough to steady myself again. While I gasped frantically for air, Cern's hand tangled in my hair and he began striding purposefully toward something I couldn't see, dragging me along behind him.

"Wait!" I cried, forgetting his warning for fear, "_Please_, Cernunnos, I'm sorry! I know I fucked up, I did but-"

He jerked me up by my hair roughly and forced back my head, and then with a startling flash of pain, he _slapped_ me with the back of his free hand. For a long moment I could only stare at him in utter shock as he held me firmly in place.

"I have warned you about your tongue, human. Should I rip it from your head to make my point?"

Quickly, I shook my head_ no_, eyes still wide from shock. He'd really just slapped me. Hard! Over _cursing_! Suddenly this was all very real. What was he planning to do with me? Would he hurt me as he had before with the arrow?

Was he _really_ that angry with me?

After a moment to make sure he was understood, the god began to drag me down the seemingly endless stone hall again. The farther we walked the dimmer the light around us became until finally he came to an abrupt stop at a dark wooden door. I recognized it with a start as the door from my dream, when Cern had tricked me into letting him into my head. I didn't have much time to admire it though because with a jerk, he thrust it open and tossed me inside. Again I found myself falling against unforgiving marble and wondered if I would be covered in bruises in the morning.

_If you make it till morning._

Frantically I flipped over and scrambled backwards away from him on my hands and heels, catching myself on the long cloth of my dress and falling here and there. Cern watched this impassively, but followed my clumsy retreat at a slow, deliberate pace.

We were in a bedroom it seemed, but one from an era before my time. I ducked behind a large leather armchair near the stone fireplace and took the chance to look around quickly. The ceilings were high and vaulted, decorated with gold leafing that passed like veins down to the walls. These were made of dark stone and flecked with quartz that flashed when it caught the light. Where I was currently cowering seemed to be the small common area, with a dark fur rug, too big for me to recognize the animal, and two high-backed leather chairs sitting before a fire that roared to life when Cern neared it.

The focus of the room however, was on the great canopied bed against the back wall. It was carved from a rich cherry wood, the banisters looking like staffs with great snakes winding their way up them. Dark red silks and sheer golden materials draped down around the bed at different lengths. There was a large opening however at the foot of the bed and it was held open by the two snakes, each gripping the materials with its curved wooden fangs.

I snapped back to attention when the chair I'd been ducking behind was tossed to the side with a thunderous crash and cried out, scrambling away as the wood exploded far too close to me. I'd made it behind the second chair when Cern roared.

"_Enough_." He commanded and that chair went hurtling off to the side like its companion. "Do not be childish."

"Childish?" I exclaimed angrily, "You're treating me like…" but my words trailed off when he stepped forward and his hand closed around my throat, dragging me roughly toward him.

"Tell me, are you frightened?" he asked searching my eyes intently. I nodded and he sneered, "Good. You _should_ be afraid. You should be _terrified_ little human."

I only whimpered in response and he gave me a look of disgust before shoving me away.

"What was I thinking, keeping you alive? I should have left you to die in that forest and avoided this bedlam all together."

My eyes narrowed at that, and with the help of the inebriants, I stood strait to face him. "_How dare you_!" I cried and the god, shocked that I dared yell at him at_ all_, turned to stare at me frigidly.

"Should have let me _die,_ huh? Well I never asked you to help me in the first place! I never asked for any of this, any of this horrible…_whatever_ I'm living right now if it isn't a **nightmare**. I didn't ask to watch my family get slaughtered _or_ my friends, and I certainly didn't ask to be bound to the man who _did_ it." I closed my fists, bubbling over with rage so quickly it was disorienting and my head was starting to spin again.

"I never wanted to be taken in as your little pet either, _Cernunnos_. And I _**damn**__ sure_ never wanted to lose my soul! I don't care how 'good for me' it was."

"Careful, Mira," Cern said in a voice like the angry churning of the sea, "I have already lost my patience for you. I will not abide your insolence."

"Oh?" I laughed incredulously, "You won't _abide_ it?" I repeated. "Are you kidding me? I am** not **your pet, Cern! I am not a toy or some _thing_ you can bat around like a damn mouse!"

This time when he advanced I felt my stomach drop and the beginnings of nausea. His expression had fallen to something dark and when I turned to run I felt his fingers in my hair, I screamed. The sound echoed around the huge open room like it was taunting me, until it faded off into the high ceiling. He shoved me, face first, against the stone wall beside the fireplace, then held me there, wrenching my head back and to the side so that he could find my eyes when he spoke.

"But that is _exactly_ what you are, Mira." He hissed, "A play_thing_, because you have no power to stop anyone who wishes to _make_ you so."

I pushed at the wall in an attempt to get away, but he only shoved me back against the stone, ignoring my groan of pain.

"There is so much I could do to you, little human, so much I _would have_ in the past for the smallest of slights against me. I give you clemency now, only to have you insult me again and again."

"Oh yeah?" I said raggedly, struggling against him, though he put hardly any effort into keeping me pinned. "Are you gunna _punish_ me now?"

"I could burn you alive from the inside out, just by willing it so," he said and it made me tremble, "Or reach into your chest and pry open your ribcage to make stew of your entrails. You are so very _weak_, Mira, it is a wonder your kind manage to survive at all, but I suppose that is what _every_ parasite is best at."

I cried out in indignation, but he released my hair to grab my arm and twist it up behind my back until I whimpered for the pain of it and settled down again.

"Now tell me," he said slowly, "What should I do with you? What would _you_ do to an ungrateful creature, like yourself, in my place?"

"I'd start by releasing her arm." He bent it up farther and pain flashed up my arm, "_Or!_…Or I'd tell her what she can do to make it up to you."

"Would you so easily overlook betrayal?"

I paused again to think about that a moment until a realization hit me and I gave a pitiful sort of almost-laugh.

"Wait, did I… did I hurt your _feelings_?" I asked, incredulous, "Are you_ serious_? Is this because I kissed Jael?"

His eyes narrowed a fraction, "Do not flatter yourself, Mira. Your promiscuity is not the issue."

"I think it is." I said, shaking my head as best I could from my position and ignoring the fact that he'd just calmly called me a whore. "As bad as you treat me Cern, you still_ want_ me. I bet it just infuriates you that I haven't thrown myself on you yet. Is that something you're used to?"

"This temple was built with the specific purpose of housing the men and women I was offered as tribute. In this room there has not been a single soul who did _not_ 'throw themselves on me', as you put it."

"So this _is_ a first for you?" I asked, "Not being wanted?"

"You dare to insult me now?" he asked very slowly, taken aback by my defiance. "Do you truly believe that if I desired you I would not take you?"

"Not if I don't _want_ you to, you won't, or are you threatening to rape me _as well_ as grind my bones for bread?"

He glanced up at the ceiling a moment, fists clenching as if he were trying not to strangle me, then he shook his head.

"I do not need to rape you Mira. Your body is mine when I ask for it." He paused, titling his head and my angry retort became a cry of pain as the flesh of my thigh split open where his arrow had pierced me before. "Unless you wish to retract our bargain?"

I gasped for breath when the wound began to deepen, tearing through my thigh to recreate itself.

"N-no!" I managed to say and squeezed my eyes closed.

"_Look at me_." He ordered harshly and I did, cringing away from the frightening gleam in his eyes. It slowly melted to something cold as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the wall. The wound closed itself with one last flash of pain.

"I lied to you before," he said slowly, "when I promised to stay out of your mind. It can be so hard to understand you." Then he smiled, ever so slightly, though the expression was not kind, "For instance, I know where you were this evening. I know what you saw." He moved behind me, taking hold of my wrists, "I know that it frightened you, but I felt your _excitement_ as well. Tell me, Mira, is it cruelty that wins you? Is that why you cling so tightly to your vampire?"

"I don't…Isaac seduced me! He pretended to be kind and-"

Cern chuckled against my hair, gathering my wrists into one hand and holding me close. He was so unbelievably warm that it had my head spinning again and I slumped against him, thankful that he was holding me up.

"And yet even after such treachery you still find yourself wanting him." Cern finished for me, "Silly, reckless thing. He has you wrapped around his finger."

"No." I shook my head, trying to focus on something other than the feel of him behind me. After this stupid drunkenness wore off I was swearing off alcohol. It seemed to make me…well…_randy_.

"There is no use lying, child, I know why you called to me. You are afraid that your feelings for him in the past have not fully disappeared." His hold became a touch lighter, "But you shouldn't fret, it is only natural for one who you loved so completely."

"I never..**NO**!" I cried, struggling out of his grip, though I knew he'd simply let me go. "I don't love Isaac, I didn't before, I just…" but his expression said he didn't believe me so I trailed off again. After it became obvious that he wasn't going to save me from the oppressive silence, I wiped away a stray tear and took a steadying breath.

"So? Let's get this over with." I said, to which he only tilted his head in curiosity. "Aren't you going to burn me alive or eat my…whatever?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes Cern." I said sarcastically. "I _love_ being tortured. It's my favorite thing."

"Sometimes I wonder." He replied, almost to himself.

I growled in frustration and pulled at my hair, watching tiny splinters of wood fall from it and clatter to the floor. "_Stop it_, okay? I don't want to talk about my feelings for Isaac or _you_. I don't…I don't want to talk at _all_. So just hurry up and do whatever you want to me. Beat me or whatever; just get out your frustration so I can go _home_."

"Home to your vampire." He finished and I wanted to scream.

"_No_ you son of a…Just no."

He chuckled, moving slowly around me. I watched, ready to flee if I needed to, not that I had much hope of getting away. I didn't even know where I was.

"There are other ways." He spoke softly as he circled me.

"To do what?" I asked, fists clenched at my sides.

"To relieve frustration."

To that I gave humorless laugh and rolled my eyes. "Oh, I'm sure."

"You scoff, but it is the truth."

"And what makes you think that after the night I've had I'd even _consider_ it?"

Cern shrugged, stopping behind me. His fingers feathered up my arm, tracing the line of my collarbone as he spoke. "Because you need it." He said as if that were any kind of answer, but he continued before I could tell him as much. "Because if you carry on the way you have, it will kill you."

"What, _not_ having sex with everyone I meet?"

"No, Mira, holding on to all your anger and grief as if it will protect you." His fingers brushed my throat, while his other hand slipped around my waist to pull me back against him. As always the odd warmth of his body enveloped me, turning my thoughts sluggish and making my body relax despite itself.

"You wear your anguish like a shield, little one, refusing to let it go even when the weight is unbearable. Aren't you exhausted?"

"Yes." The word just sort of slipped out, and I closed my eyes, leaning back against him. Letting him support me.

"Perhaps then, for just _one_ night, you could let it go." He murmured, and his warm breath stirred my hair, sending tremors down my spine.

Gods, I was tired of difficult decisions. In fact, I was tired of making everything so difficult on _myself_. And he was right, the bastard, I _did_ make myself miserable. Between my constant attempts at hating Isaac and everything he stood for, and my inability to accept what my life had become, I _was_ exhausted. I was tired of fighting the things I could never change. On the other hand, I wasn't stupid.

I turned in his arms and he shifted to accommodate this new position, watching me closely. "So, you're telling me that sleeping with you is a magic cure-all for pain? What, does your penis shoot Xanax?"

The brief flash of confusion in his expression was enough to make me smile, but it faded as he spoke again.

"No. I am not the cure for your pain." He replied slowly, reaching up to brush the hair from my face, "But I _am_ an attentive lover." I blushed at that and tried to pull away, but he held me firmly in place, holding my eyes.

"I offer only a distraction, Mira. A place to go to forget, if only for an hour or two." I turned away, but the god took my face, gently pulling me back. "And a promise."

"Being?" I asked softly, aware of the pressure at the backs of my eyes that warned of tears.

"In this room, you will _never_ be a plaything. You will never be my pet nor the means to entertainment. You may be as strong or weak as you desire." He looked deep into me, urging me to understand what he offered, "In this room, _you_ are the master if you so choose. You need never be helpless again."

Warm tears slipped down my cheeks as the room fell back into silence and I gazed up at him. Part of me was convinced this all had to be a lie. That he wanted something, namely my body, and only sought to twist that fact with pretty words, but I'd been watching him too. I'd seen the genuine emotion in his eyes. And he was right, I needed _something_, or I wouldn't make it much longer. If it wasn't this, at least I could say that I _tried_.

"I don't want to be the master of anything." I said, letting my eyes close and resting my forehead against his chest.

"What _do_ you want?" he asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice. He held me out to find my eyes again, titling his head in that infuriatingly endearing way he always did.

"I have no idea." I breathed truthfully. My hand found the soft leather of his vest and I sighed, tracing the lines etched into the tanned flesh over his abdomen. "But if you have any suggestions…"

"A few." He smiled devilishly, hand slipping around the back of my neck and pulling me suddenly forward for a kiss.

I resisted at first, nearly pulling away from him, but I managed to steel myself. And after a moment or two, when the taste of apricots was on my tongue, I didn't have to fight at all. The first night we had met came flooding back in flashes and feelings. The way he'd kissed me then, the way his touch had seemed an electric extension of myself, I wanted that again.

As the god pulled me flush against his body, I found myself nipping at his lip. This caused him to growl deep in his chest and suddenly he shoved me backward. It wasn't hard, but it was enough that I yelped, reaching out to catch myself before I fell, but…I wasn't falling. In fact, though we'd been well across the room, I landed on the surprisingly soft mattress of his great bed. Cernunnos stood at the foot of it, with a smile that rivaled the devil's in wickedness. Then, as I propped myself up on my elbows, he moved forward, crawling onto the mattress and up my body like some sort of predator. I trembled at the thought, feeling the first nagging doubts as he sank down over me and kissed a slow trail along the column of my throat.

"Do you actually sleep in the bed, or is it just for…uh _this_?"

"I do not sleep." He said simply, continuing his trail between my breast and down my abdomen. My breath hitched and I knotted the silky comforter in my fist.

"Never?" I asked, breathily, "but I thought you-"

Cern paused, pushing himself up so that he could search my expression.

"You're nervous." He said, frowning ever so slightly.

With an anxious chuckle, I nodded. "It's ah…been a while."

"And this worries you?" he asked, noting the fist I still had knotted in the sheets.

"Well, yes actually." He was tracing the line of my pearlescent bodice, and bent down to place a kiss above it.

"You feel you will disappoint me." I couldn't look at him now for embarrassment, but I nodded.

"You're a **GOD**, Cernunnos. I have no doubt you can blown _my_ mind, but I'm just-" He cut me off with a passionate kiss, pulling away only when I was too breathless to speak.

"Do you find excuses to worry in _every_ situation?" he chuckled, then gently urged me back against the mattress, trailing his finger down the column of my throat and lihting up the places he'd kissed me like firecrackers, "This night is for your pleasure, Mira, do not even take _mine_ into consideration."

"Isn't that a little…odd? I mean most guys wouldn't exactly-"

"_Most guys_," he said over me, "have not learned to appreciate the thrill that comes with_ giving_ pleasure." He arched a brow, "I take it you have only bedded selfish lovers in the past."

"There was just the one," I said evenly, "And, yeah, you could say he was selfish. You could _also_ say he was a callous pig who…what are you doing?"

Cern had busied himself with exploring my body as I spoke, but now it seemed he was ready to move beyond the clothes. He touched his forefinger to the tip of my dress and drew it down, but as he did so, warmth radiated out of it. The pearlescent glass trembled a moment before splitting with the path of his finger and curling away from itself like the burning edges of paper.

"This boy," he said, as if this were the standard way to undress your lover, "Is he to blame for your aversion to sex?"

I watched as the dress curled apart, exposing a strip of pale flesh from my breasts, down below my navel, and tried to remember what he'd just asked me. Though it didn't seem to matter. He'd moved to kiss my chest, softly, watching me as he did so, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Then again, a fraction lower, and then_ again_. Each kiss was slow and deliberate, leaving in its wake a heat that pulsed down to my core.

"I ah…" he kissed my ribs, then just below my navel, "he..um…that's _very_ distracting."

"Is it?" he asked innocently, kissing my hip and biting it just hard enough to make me hiss in a breath.

"Mm-hmm." I replied, biting down on my lower lip.

The skirt of my dress was not solid, it had been formed of dozens of ribbons of glass and so when the god brushed his fingers across the covering, it shriveled and burned away quicker than the bodice. I sucked in a breath, feeling exposed and more than a little nervous.

"Why am I the only one not wearing clothes?" I asked after letting him explore the flesh of my thigh with his fingers. Cern paused, glancing up at me a moment before he laughed, pushing himself up on the mattress. Then, like wisps of smoke, his leather vest curled and dissipated off his body.

It took me a long moment to snap out of my open stare, and once I had it was harder to keep myself focused. I'd never seen Cern in anything but full dress, and _sure_ I'd seen a naked chest before, but never one so flawlessly crafted that wasn't on the glossy page of a magazine. I'd never had one right in front of me, with the permission to touch what I pleased.

"Better?" he asked, knowing the answer by the tiny smile that was infecting my lips. I nodded, reaching out to flatten my palm against his abdomen, just to know it was real. To prove to myself that this wasn't a dream, and he wouldn't vanish as his vest had. Excitement, stronger than before filled me, and I reached up to the back of his neck, pulling him down to kiss him with everything I could muster.

He chuckled against my mouth, running his hands along my body, leaving sparks of pleasant electricity behind him and then he was kissing another trail down my torso. Lower and lower, hooking my knee over his shoulder, flashing me a wicked smile, tipped by teeth sharper than they'd been before. His eyes flashed a moment before his head dipped down and mine fell back against the mattress.

"Oh…_wow,_" was all I could manage as his tongue swept up between my thighs, and then I couldn't speak at _all_. I couldn't do anything.

But strangely, that was completely fine by me.

* * *

**I know! I know! They had "THE SEX" but really guys? Go with it for now!**

**And for all you Isaac fans out there, who are currently melting into your seat with rage or at least mild irritation, come on now. Do you think if that boy really wants her, he'll just sit back or give up? Pfft, hell no.**

**NOT that I'm saying anything will happen, but if it did…it'd go H.A.M.**

**As for the scene itself, I had planned to write a full sex scene between the two, even had one done already, but it just didn't feel right. It wasn't about the sex, so I didn't want to focus on it, even though it was Mira's first walk into the naughty side in this story. However, when the time is right, I'll write you guys a nice, long, naughty lemon.**

**Deal? :D**


	25. Ribbons of Light

I woke in a haze with the ghost of Cern's touch still on my skin. Skin that was still warm, like the heat that is retained in sunbathing. He was no longer here, in fact I was no longer in the temple anymore. He must have popped me back to the hotel in my sleep. It irritated me at first, waking to an absent lover felt almost like rejection. The tiny buzz that still remained beneath my skin however, was reminder enough that Cern was no normal man. If he was finished with me I would _know _it.

My room was dark, and no light peeked in through my window, so it had to still be night. My time with Cern had felt like an eternity, but I had no way of telling for sure. In fact, I had yet to see the forest in the day. Perhaps time moved differently there. At this point, nothing would surprise me.

There was music playing out in the living room. Something soft and classical. I took a few minutes just laying there, listening to it. Since living with the vampires I had learned to appreciate most forms of music. Their tastes were so eclectic, and mine was slowly becoming so as well.

My body was heavy, weighted from exertion, and yet I felt better than I had in months. Memories of the god came back in teasing flashes. His fingers trailing down my sides, leaving electric currents in their wake. His lips, soft and warm on my throat, my chest, my thighs. At times, the experience had been almost painful, the range of sensations all crashing down on me at once. I had been confused and desperate, pleading when he'd stopped touching me, and then when my body was too exhausted to move, I pleaded for rest. He had followed me into my dreams then, where exhaustion was no longer a factor.

Cernnunos had been right. In his arms there had been no time to think about Isaac or what I may or may not feel for him. No time for Josep, yet another friend I would lead to the slaughter, like the mother goose of death. There was only us. Only feeling, colored by the occational hoarse cries of _harder, faster, deeper_.

My legs shook when I first tried to stand, my body protesting that it was not yet ready for movement. However, the vicious knowing in my gut would not be ignored. I was starving and the scent of red meat was already laced throughout the hotel to tease me. I steeled myself and made my way into the livingroom. The music played from the expensive stereo against the far wall, but there was no one listening to int. In fact, the place seemed empty.

There was a brief moment of panic when I thought I had been abandoned until I reminded until I saw the table. Set for one with a glass of white wine already poured and waiting on the table. In the small kitchenette, something hissed and released another wave of wonderful mouth-watering smell. Hunger pains made me shake again. My knees wobbled, then buckled beneath me, but I didn't hit the ground as expected. Someone had caught me.

"Are you alright?" Josep asked, startling me. He moved me into the chair at the table and knelt down o inpect my face. "You're feverish, Mira, are you ill?"

I shook my head, "I feel great actually, just a little weak."

The vampire frowned, tilting his head in question, "Then what have you been doing all this time?"

I must have blushed because Josep chuckled, shaking his head, and handing me the glass of wine from the table. "I see. And how _was_ the god?"

When I didn't answer, he grinned wider and took the chair beside me. "Really Mira, I didn't know you had it in you. A night with him perhaps, but _three_? No wonder your legs aren't working."

My embarrassment was shoved aside for horror.

"_Three days_? I've been gone for…no I…" Josep watched me panic, calmly sipping his wine. He seemed greatly amused by my reaction, but after a few moments took my hand comfortingly.

"Hush, sweetheart, it's not the end of the world. Who_ wouldn't_ lose track of time panting beneath a fertility god? I'm sure you had much better things to worry about at the time, darling."

"Oh god." My eyes shot wide again, "I left Isaac! What about Dahlia and-"

"Calm down," Josep laughed and moved into the kitchen to the hissing skillet on the stove. "He figured it out after a little panicking. The shadow was taken care of as they always are."

I nodded, but downed the rest of my wine. I'd left Isaac, yes, but my worry was in the _way_ I'd left him. I'd very nearly _slept_ with him. Not only that, but I denied him, only to turn around and throw myself on Cern. I already knew that once he pieced it together, the hell would be a painful one. I doubt I would ever hear the end of it.

If I had a super power, it would be getting myself into trouble.

Josep returned to sweep something delicious looking onto the plate sitting in front of me, then set down his own and piled it on. "After a three-day tantric vacation, I imagine you're starved."

My stomach growled at the sight of the food, shredded bits of beef with sautéed peppers and what looked like raspberries. I nodded enthusiastically and he smiled in his charming boyish way, his chocolaty eyes sparkling.

"Then it would be an honor if you joined me for diner."

"I would love to." I smiled back as he refilled my wine glass and stood to take the skillet back to the kitchen. I closed my eyes, basking it the scent of the beef and sighed contentedly. I was even going to sneak a tiny piece but Josep appeared beside the table again to swat my hand away with an arched brow.

"Presentation is crucial." He said, tipping a small pot over to drizzle a sweet smelling sauce over everything. More raspberries and the hint of something spicy and I was practically holding myself to the seat to keep from attacking the plate. He covered his own plate then returned the pot to the stove. I think by that point he was taking his time on purpose to tease me.

"Where are the others?" I asked when he finally sat down across from me and motioned to dig in. Which I did, like a starving beast. I managed to use my utensils, but the wonderful blend of spice and sweet was too good to waste and I sucked it down like a vacuum.

Josep noted this with a pleased grin, "There has been a development," he said, taking a small bite from his own plate. "Colette has sent them out on another job."

"What kind of development?" I frowned.

Josep gazed down solemnly at his plate a moment, swirling the wine around in his glass. "It seems I will have company in my cell at the Queen's."

The forkful that had been on its way to my mouth paused then fell back to my plate. "Don't." I said, barely audible, though I knew he heard me.

"Don't what?" he asked slowly, I could feel his eyes boring into me, though for a long moment I couldn't bring myself to meet them.

"Please…if you're going to bring it up at all, don't do so casually. I know you're strong and you've accepted this, but I still don't believe that you _want_ to die. Don't talk about it like the weather, as if you don't give a shit."

Josep laced his fingers, watching me over his hands with an expression I couldn't decipher. "Would you rather I burst into tears on your shoulder, Mira? Personally, I think that might be awkward for _both_ of us."

"Why don't you run?"

The vampire sighed, setting down his fork and leaning back in his chair. "You've asked this already."

"And your answer was stupid."

Josep laughed, raising his brows, "you must work on your dinner conversation, darling."

"I'm serious, Josep!" I said, leaning forward, "Hell, you could go _now_, no one's watching you, and I would never stop you. Hell, I could even tell them I let you."

"**No**." Josep's sudden serious tone made me jump and when I looked up at him, his expression was severe. "You must never do anything to lose favor with Colette."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my food, but he was suddenly kneeling in front of me, lifting my chin to gaze intently into my eyes.

"You _listen_ to me, child." he said, "As long as Isaac keeps business with the bitch-queen you must watch yourself. She is cold and she is cruel. Colette knows what kind of asset he is, and will do anything to keep him from the other elders. She will look for any excuse to get rid of you, in hopes that he will return to her bed and her influence." He took my hand, squeezing it hard enough that I flinched. "She will _kill_ you if she gets the chance, Mira. You must **never** let that happen."

I looked down, pulling from his grasp, "Why does it matter?"

The vampire finally smiled again, and with the expression, returned the warmth of the room. "Well, "he began, ducking his head to find my eyes again, "My own selfish reason is that I like you, Mira. I'm not really sure why. You are stubborn, and contrary, and _far_ too naive for one who plays with the forces you've gathered."

"Gee thanks." I muttered, but he continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"I think that in your small way, you're even good for Isaac. You infuriate him, yes, but you have given him drive again." He chuckled, though the sound was sad, "There was a time I feared he was losing himself, as Amhlaoibh did. The isolation, his refusal to take in shadows...we all know the signs." Then he smiled and the light returned to his chocolate eyes, "But look at the boy _now_. Keeping company with Sanura, who had feared he would never trust her again, poor love-sick thing. Even opening himself to human companionship after Daniel's brainwashing. If you aren't the cause, you are the catalyst, Mira."

"I appreciate that you want to make me feel better, but Isaac doesn't really give a shit about me. He never has. Any interest he shows in me now is because he and Cern are convinced I'm special."

Josep sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. "I'd forgotten. You don't really understand him at all."

"Can we change the subject, to NOT Isaac?"

"Would you rather we discuss how you fled when things became too intimate between the two of you?"

"He told you about that?" I glared down at my plate, "That _fucker_."

Josep laughed, propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands. "Yes, well that '_fucker_' felt the rejection. He's been a little more irritable than usual." He rolled his eyes, "the boy can be so childish. I would hate him for it if it wasn't so endearing."

"I thought you liked children." I muttered.

Josep smiled devilishly, his eyes glinting, and went back to eating without reply. I followed suit, happy to move away from that conversation. Why did everything have to relate to the vampire?

After that the evening become rather nice. After dinner, Josep helped me to the couch (I was still a little shaky and feverish) and we watched some strange british soup opera. Josep explained the plot up to that point and then we were gushing together about who was right for who and which of the women on the show were just bitches. It was odd, but I felt as if I had traveled back to my high school days, with my girlfriends and chick-flick nights.

It wasn't until several hours of soup operas, when Jean was finally confessing his love to Charlotte when there was a bang outside the door, followed by wild giggles. Male and female. At first I imagined Isaac and Sanura falling on each other in post-slaughter glee, but when the door swung open and the vampire tumbled through it onto the floor, it wasn't Sanura who followed him down.

"I see it went well." Josep said looking over the back of the couch. I remained snuggled close to him, peeking over his arm.

Sanura, frowning at the pair on the floor, closed and locked the door behind her, and stepped over them while Isaac pulled the other woman into a drunken kiss. She flung her jacket over the back of the couch and eyed us a moment before plopping down beside me.

"It could have been worse I suppose." She sighed. "When we got there, they'd drugged her up so much she was barely lucid. Isaac had to drain her until she stopped screaming and running from us." The irritated vampire waved at the giggling couple on the floor. "As you can see, he's acting like an idiot. Whatever they gave her, it was strong and he's feeling it." I looked back at the pair, starring at the back of the girl's head and feeling a cold curling of unease in my gut.

White hair, the color of fallen snow, and I knew when she rose her head, her eyes would be a milky white as well. Blind eyes that saw regardless. I looked back at Sanura and frowned.

"Why is Lidia here?"

"Because _one_ of the human's here has to be interesting." Isaac said, titling his head back on the floor to look at me upside down. I ignored him, pleased to see that Sanura shot him an irritated scowl, then took my hand. Her scowl became worry in an instant.

"Oh, honey, you're burning up." She looked to Josep who covered a laugh, then frowned. "Are you doing alright?"

"If she isn't we could leave her here. Holloway Sanatorium has a new opening." Isaac chuckled at his joke and turned back to Lidia who was snuggling against his chest like a cat. I think she was even purring.

Sanura gave a short sigh before standing up and pulling me with her. "I'm serious, you ass, she's got a terrible fever. What have you been doing?"

At this Josep cleared his throat, "I think the question is _who_."

Sanura looked back to me with raised brows and a grin. "_Oh_," she said slowly, "I bet _that_ was fun."

I shrugged, enjoying the way Isaac had gone stiff on the floor to listen. "Cern took me to a fairy orgy…it was interesting."

"I never get to go to the fun parties." Josep sighed theatrically while Sanura wrapped and arm around my shoulder and walked me to the fridge for some ice.

"Holding out on us huh?" she winked.

Still feeling playful, I grinned. "I'll get you into the next one."

From the floor, Lidia squealed, only half in pain, and jumped up off of Isaac. He remained on the floor, starring up at the ceiling with black eyes. Was it terrible of me to want to laugh? Instead, I let Sanura worry over me, wrapping ice in a towel and leading me back to the couch to hold it against my neck. I wasn't sure when exactly we had bonded, but I wasn't going to complain about it. Especially not when it seemed to irritate Isaac so badly.

It seemed Lidia was interested in my condition as well. She made her awkward way to the couch, looking at everything as she went, then sat down on her knees beside me. I tried not to seem uneasy, but the girl's blind eyes made me uncomfortable. More so when I knew she could see me just fine. I leaned closer to Sanura and Josep, noticing my discomfort, tried to get her attention.

"How does it feel to be out of your cage?"

She didn't look away from me, but titled her head, speaking in a soft voice. "One cage for another." She leaned in, speaking to me as if I knew what the hell she was talking about, "the lions aren't trustful, you see." I nodded to humor her, but her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at me.

"If only they could see. Silly blind things." Suddenly she was sitting forward, leaning against the front of the couch and far too close to me. "_You_ can see. You have light dancing off your skin." She smiled faintly reaching out as if to touch something floating above my arm. "Ribbons of light from the sun, but they're broken." She pulled back to tilt her head at me, "Would you like me to fix them?"

"That's very thoughtful of you, but-"

Sanura reached out to pull me closer to her and away from the crazy woman. "Leave her be, Lidia, go play with your boyfriend."

The girl shook her head, looking severe, "Daddy doesn't allow boyfriends."

"And if he finds out you have one, he'll have to spank you." Lidia flushed happily at Isaac's words, but turned her attention back on me quickly.

"I promise it won't pinch, just a quick look, while you can still see." She said, reaching out to grab my arm. Sanura's hand shot out too and she managed to slip it halfway under the crazy woman's, but even that it seemed was not enough.

The feeling was instant, like cold hands dragging me down into myself, and then I went blind. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound escaped. I was paralyzed, unable to do anything as color and scent and sound swirled around me in a confusingly fast whirl. Slowly the blurred color became an image, but it wasn't mine. It was strange, and I couldn't explain how, but I _knew_ this was Sanura's mind. Her memories.

_Sanura sat on a roughly crafted wooden chair, gazing off into the field that surrounded her home. Winter had turned the greens into dead and melancholy brown, and as the wind kicked up, she wrapped her arm around her distended stomach as if to protect the child within. Her clothing was stitched of rough fabrics, telling me there was no great wealth here._

"_You'll catch your death out here." The deep male voice, was rough, but kind, and at the sound of it, she smiled and reached out to take his hand. The dark-skinned man was older, maybe in his forties while Sanura seemed barely twenty, but I knew, because this was Sanura's memory, that she loved him more than anything. He knelt down to touch her belly and grinned when the child kicked, then reached out to draw her forward kissing her forehead with a whispered "I love you."_

"_Momma!" the adolescent cry came from the open doorway and a child no more than 3 came waddling out. He smiled happily, pink tongue flicking out between his missing front teeth and reached his chubby little fingers out to grab at her skirt._

"_I finded you a buddafwy!" he exclaimed excitedly, opening his other hand to show the ruined thing in his palm. She sighed while her husband scooped the child up in a fit of high-pitched giggles, but there was no mistaking the happiness there._

The image suddenly faded, curling away into nothingness like smoke, but I could still feel the ghost of her husband's kiss on my forehead. The child's hand on my leg. Then the colors began spinning again, and formed into another scene.

_Sanura fell to the ground in a lavishly decorated parlor with a sharp cry. On her way down, she'd knocked a candle from its holder and now the thick, white wax was coating the carpet. It burned where it had splashed across her fingers, but she wasn't worried about that. Her arm went up to block her attacker and she shook her head frantically._

"_Please! I have children, "she pleaded, "My husband-"_

"_Will mourn your loss and support your offspring. It is far better than the alternative." _

_The man who spoke was richly dressed and in his late twenties. He had dark brown hair that had been pulled back by a leather tie and an intimidating goatee that spoke of the times. And then there were his eyes. Bright and blue, the color of a frozen river. As Sanura stared up into them, I could _feel_ her mind numb. They were beautiful, the way ice could be beautiful, but I just knew that if you broke their surface, you would be met with nothing but endless, terrifying cold. He seemed to emanate power, and the feeling was oppressive._

_The man knelt down to drag her onto her knees. "If you refuse me, they _all _die."_

_Sanura hung her head, quietly sobbing. It took her a long moment, but she finally turned back up at him, looking defeated and lost._

"_Yes Daniel." _

Before I could grasp back at the image of the infamous vampire, the scene once again shifted.

_Isaac was pulling a giggling Sanura into the shadowed isolation of an alley. Both were dressed in the fashions of the roaring twenties. He in a dark, blue and grey suit and bowler, and her in a black cloche hat and blue dress that flared out just above her knees._

_Isaac spun her around, and pushed her up against the rough stones, stepping up to press against her back. His hands went to the dress, bunching the material of her skirt up around her waist. Sanura was smiling, breathing hard, but her eyes snapped to the mouth of the alley._

"_Someone will see us." She protested without much conviction._

"_Best to move quickly then." He replied against the back of her neck, where he was nipping her spine. _

"_Daniel's waiting for us." She continued, voice hitching. Her tone was even less serious than the first time, almost as if she said it out of obligation. Isaac's hand slipped around the front of her dress and she groaned into the bricks, brow knitting. He chuckled into her hair and nipped at her throat again._

"_If you want me to stop…" but Sanura gave a throaty chuckle and pressed back against him. It was answer enough._

I could hear the muffled sound of shouting around me as this image faded, but it was not replaced as the others had been. Instead I felt as if I'd been dunked under water. Someone was shaking me and yelling above me, and as I blinked the hotel room came back into sharp focus. I could see Sanura on the couch beside me, eyes wide and drawn up against the arm as if it would protect her from me.

"Mira?" Josep said again, and then with a curse, he slapped me. As my head snapped to the side, I cursed as well, regaining control of my body and rolling nearly off the couch until he caught me.

Isaac had joined us as well, but he stood far away from the couch, holding Lidia tightly to his chest as she scratched and clawed to get away from him.

"No!" she screamed, "How can I finish this puzzle when the pieces are missing?"

Isaac pulled her back against his chest petting her hair to sooth her. He arched a brow at me and I afforded him a quick shake of the head. "Calm down bit. We'll get you a better puzzle, with oversized pieces you can't swallow."

He kissed the top of her head and murmured something into her ear that made her smile faintly and nod, while I clutched the couch cushion behind me until my fingers ached, trying my best not to look guilty.

She _knew,_ the nosey little psycho! She'd seen that part of my memory was gone. If she told the others, I didn't know what I would do. I felt ashamed for my choice and its consecenses, stupid even, and was perfectly happy taking that secret to my grave. I could only hope that Lidia's jumbled mess of a brain kept her vague, or better yet that she couldn't understand what she'd seen. Perhaps her confusion would make processing the information impossible.

One could only hope.

"Come on, bit," Isaac smiled, stroking his thumb across Lidia's lower lip and letting her bite at the tip of it. "We've got an early flight in the morning."

She grinned, "Can we play a little until then?"

Isaac laughed softly, and nodded, leading her back toward his room and slamming the door. He was ignoring me at the moment, which while not expected, wasn't _terrible_. I couldn't handle his anger at the moment, and I'd known without a doubt ,in the single glance I caught from him, that he was furious.

That would be something fun to deal with later, though I couldn't say I hadn't seen it coming.

Josep was whispering with Sanura in the kitchen, but when they noticed me still sitting on the couch, they returned. I noticed that Sanura placed herself out of my reach this time, though she smiled and asked me if I was alright. I played along, and we all pretended that nothing had happened, even turned the soups back on.

As the night wore on, we had to turn up the volume to cover Lidia's ridiculous cries, but for the most part it was ok. I slowly settled back into my place against Josep, and then as she got more comfortable, Sanura joined us, though she sat on his opposite side.

"I've got the pimp seat." He joked and we laughed and gushed over the show.

I fell asleep tucked under his arm, worrying that Lidia would have a rare moment of clarity and give me away, and when I dreamed it was of a faceless woman screaming in the woods over her blurred husband, and the faceless girl who was ripped apart beside her.

* * *

**Sooooooooo…..yup.**

**Just wanted to say, that to those who are pissed at the lack of Isaac reaction, patience is a virtue they tell me. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but we shall see as there are quite a few finals I'm going to be studying for. **

**For now, tell me what you thought of this, though I'll admit it was mostly a filler chapter before we get back to the Americas and…teeheehee…the things that are going to happen there.**


	26. The Pain of Revelation

I woke to crashing from the kitchen. At first, I panicked, grabbing the closest thing to me, which turned out to be Josep. Either we had fallen asleep on the couch together, or he had remained at my side out of courtesy, because he hadn't moved at all. On his other side, Sanura yawned like a cat, tongue curling out around her teeth, then blinked groggily at the arguing pair in the kitchen.

Isaac was snatching something away from Lidia, who seemed to be in the middle of a breakdown. She stomped her feet and grabbed a butter knife off the counter. She made to stab him with it and was swatted away, but she kept trying.

"_Liar_!" she shrieked, "You're supposed to keep me forever! You promised!"

The vampire wasn't impressed and quickly twisted the butter knife from her grasp, tossing it on the counter behind him. When she lunged at him, he caught her arm and spun her into his own. Lidia struggled as if she were fighting to survive; all the while Isaac was trying to soothe her. Finally, he got annoyed and jerked her still. She yelped, then melted into sobs, burying her face in his jacket.

"You promised." She murmured pathetically, above her Isaac rolled his eyes.

Josep shifted to get out from under me and pulled himself from the couch with a heavy sigh. "I told you she would figure it out. She was bound to pick it from _someone's_ head."

Lidia lifted her head, narrowing her eyes on Josep with a disgusted look. "Quiet ghost, we do not talk to **dead** men."

Looking mildly surprised by her rudness, he replied calmly, "Watch your tongue little girl, or you won't _make it_ to the Queen."

To keep the peace, Sanura traced to his side and touched his shoulder gingerly. She said something softly in Italian and the stiffness in Josep's posture slowly disappeared. I hadn't even noticed it was there to begin with, still pulling myself from the bleariness of sleep.

Isaac grabbed the psychic around the shoulders and shook her once for good measure, "No more, you hear me?" She tried to duck her head and hide in her wild white hair, but he grabbed her face around her jaw and forced her to look at him.

"I _told_ you I didn't want this. You know I wanted you all to myself, bit, forever, just like I told you. **Unfortunately**, word got out." At this, he turned to glare at Sanura, who held up her hands.

"How the hell was I supposed to know? I never thought you were stupid enough to keep something like this from the Queen."

He gave her a scathing look and turned back to the sobbing Lidia.

"Fuck you, Isaac." Sanura cried defensively, "I was just talking to Ryan. He's an affable guy, unlike some men in this room."

"Ryan?" Isaac laughed sharply glancing at me as if it were my doing, "You told one of Colette's little loan-outs? Are you _kidding_ me? He might as well be her spy."

Josep pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, "It isn't her fault, Isaac. The bitch-Queen would have found out sooner or later."

"And now it's sooner." He snapped back.

I groaned into the pillows and buried my head beneath them. This was _wonderful_ to wake up to. And now we would all get to take this _glorious_ mood into the plane together.

Joy.

"She won't kill her Isaac." Josep continued, "The girl is too much of an asset."

"You're right, she'll just use her like a vending fucking vending machine. When she doesn't work, they'll tune her up." He laughed angrily again, "Do you get that I'm using that phrase for the screwdrivers involved?"

I tossed off the pillows, pushing myself up and holding onto the back of the couch. "Well this isn't helping. Why don't you stop bitching at everyone and _think_ instead."

The vampire's black eyes snapped to me and narrowed. I'd never seen him look at me with such hatred and it honestly threw me off.

"Shut your mouth, you little whore. _No one_ was talking to you."

The was a short moment of utter shock, where I couldn't move, just before the rage crashed into my like a tidal wave, filling me up until my knuckles were white from their grip on the couch cushions. I don't know if it was the sound of Lidia's incessant crying that was making everyone tense, but it deffinatly didn't help the situation.

"_Excuse me_?"

At this, he gave a challenging grin and turned to me, leaving Lidia to sob against the counter. "You want me to repeat it?"

"No." I snapped back. "I want you to explain how sleeping with one man makes me a whore. Or is it that the man wasn't you?"

He laughed, "Get over yourself Mira. You aren't worth it anymore."

I scoffed, "So does this mean you're going to stop chasing me around?"

"You could say that," he shrugged. "Mostly it means you can go live with your god, so_ I_ can pretend I was never stupid enough to take you home with me in the **first place**."

I was thankful then that Sanura stepped in with a string of angry Italian curses because I was left speechless. She shoved him and they began to argue over Lidia's crying while I just deflated. Fatigue made it impossible to conceal my feelings so I know that Josep appeared sudden to help me hide it. He walked me back to the couch and sat me down, squeezing my hand.

"He's only angry, darling. He didn't mean it."

Isaac heard him from the kitchen. "Don't you fucking lie to her," he said, "Hell, she might as well call her god now. What's the point of coming with us?"

"You would just abandon me?" I asked softly, feeling my voice catch.

"You're damn right I would." He called back, "And Little Bit, if you don't _shut your fucking mouth_ I'm going to rip out your lungs."

The girl hiccupped through her tears, but did as he said, whipping at her face like a small child. Meanwhile I felt like he'd just kicked me like a Spartan king in the chest. Sure we'd always fought, and for a long time my thought had been on nothing but escape, so why was it that now I wanted to cry. I'd loved, lusted, and hated him with everything I had and through it all he had wanted me. It had been my one constant that no matter what happened, he would always want me. If I ran, he would always track me down. The idea that he would now throw me aside was painful. Realizing that I was about to lose it all made me wonder why I'd never admitted it before. I wanted to stay with Isaac. Truthfully, I was even beginning to enjoy it, even through the dark parts.

With Lidia silenced, the grating tension in the room seemed to lesson and Isaac stopped yelling. Sanura grumbled that she was taking her things down to the car and Josep moved to the arm chair, closing his eyes to enjoy the temporary peace. I just sat there, starring at the floor. Isaac must have gotten irritated again because he moved behind the couch.

"Aren't you going to pack your things?" he asked, snidely.

"What things?" I replied, but my voice was soft. I didn't even try to argue and I think that troubled him. The vampire watched me, frowning, until I stood and left for my room, making sure not to look at him. I was suddenly exhausted again and couldn't wait to get on the plane and go back to sleep.

I pulled together the spare clothes I'd worn on this trip and tossed them all in a bag, then returned to the living room to sit back on the couch. Isaac had gathered his own things and was fussing over Lidia, who was insisting that she didn't need shoes. When I walked passed him, he watched me a moment, frowning again, but I didn't care to figure out why. Instead I turned my back on him and waited for the others.

Things went quickly after that. With no one talking to one another, we all gathered our belonging and traveled down to the lobby of the hotel. Isaac went to check us out while Sanura led the mumbling Lidia out to our waiting limo. It seemed that Colette was paying again, now that we were headed back to the states with her prisoners. The drive to the private airport was mostly quiet, save a strange conversation here and there started by Lidia. Throughout it, I made a point of ignoring Isaac, which gratifyingly seemed to irritate him. Whether it was because he was still pissed, or felt guilty, I wasn't sure. Either way, I wasn't ready to forgive him for being such an asshole.

Lidia threw another fit when we got to the plane, forcing Isaac to throw her over his shoulder to get her inside. Once inside the plane, I took a seat next to the right wing and stared out the window at the runway. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, but I didn't get to watch it. Sanura closed all the windows on the plane with the push of a button and then took her place at the small fold-out table near the cockpit. Josep placed himself away from everyone, like me, leaning back his seat and closing his eyes as if in sleep. I watched him a long time, while the jet was readied for takeoff. I'd never really noticed, but when a vampire sat still like that, he looked dead. I would have continued to stare, but Josep's eyes snapped open suddenly and he looked at me, somehow feeling my attention.

I offered a weak smile as Lidia finally settled in a seat and was belted in. Isaac sighed heavily, throwing himself down in the seat beside hers. Conveniently, they were across from me and Isaac's gaze settled heavily onto me as the jet took flight.

I don't know why he was doing it, maybe to get me to yell at him as I usually did. Perhaps he was just as thrown by my lack of sniping, as I was by his douche bag comment. Regardless, I didn't even bother shooting him an arched look, simply continued to ignore him. It remained this way for a good hour. Lidia fell asleep with the occasional murmured words, Sanura began to paint her nails in intricate designs and Josep went back to resting.

And Isaac continued to stare.

I'd been content to ignore him, but after so long, the irritation had begun to grow again. At the back of the plane was a heavy plastic patrician that served as bedroom door. While the room inside was small, it held a twin bed, bolted to the floor and tiny closet. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I surged to my feet and walked right passed the vampire to enter it. On my way, however, he grabbed my wrist.

"Let go of me." I said this very calmly and he narrowed his eyes to search my expression like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"You're mad at me."

"Generally speaking, yes."

Isaac titled his head, "He was right you know. I _was_ angry."

"That's great, but I don't forgive you." I snatched my hand away from him and returned to my escaping. Isaac unfortunately followed me.

"I wasn't apologizing." He said as I opened to door and stepped inside. I turned to close it on him with a scowl, but he shoved me back and I fell onto the bed, only two feet away. He shut the door behind him, and I caught the interest in Sanura's expression before he did.

"I didn't come in here to talk to you privately, you know."

Isaac shrugged, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms. "They can hear us perfectly well, even if you did. What's your point?"

I pushed myself back up to my feet, clenching my fists. "My point is that I'm tired of looking at you and I wanted to get away. Now you're just complicating things."

"It's cute that you're trying to hurt me, Mira, but you aren't very good at it."

"Sure I am." I replied softly, finally looking him directly in the eyes. He paused, his smile falling only a fraction before he pulled it back into place.

"That wasn't hurtful," he said, "just infuriating. _You_ are infuriating and I can't handle it anymore."

There it was again, that sharp pain in my chest. I looked down, but not before Isaac caught whatever tiny facial tell I had that told him he'd hurt me. The vampire moved closer, ducking down his head to catch my eyes. I turned away and his hand shot out, gripped my chin and turned me back. Intent on my defiance, I looked down, refusing to meet his eyes.

"_Stop it_." He said it softly, but there was the smallest slash behind his words. Quiet anger. It got my attention, and I finally raised my eyes to meet his.

The moment I did, I regretted it. His gaze was far too heavy, intense and frightening. I felt as if he could see right into me. A chill passed down my spine and he chuckled at the tremor then released my chin.

"You don't like that do you?" he asked slowly, "It hurts to think that I wouldn't want you."

I scowled and began to look away from him, but he grabbed my throat and suddenly we were slamming against the wall. I yelped, but the sound was cut off by his grip. When I proved I wasn't fighting back, however, he loosened his fingers.

"I don't _understand_ you." He said suddenly, angry and flustered, something I'd never seen on him. His patchwork eyes were shining harshly under the florescent bulb lights above us. They turned his expression wild and almost frightening. I told myself however that the others could hear this, and would help me if he really tried anything.

"I'm an open book."

"Then you're written in a language I don't know. The point is I'm tired of trying to translate it." He pulled away from me, releasing my throat, and beginning to pace the tiny room. "I get why you wanted to stay with me at first. You were frightened of the god, and I was at least familiar, but that's not the case anymore. You know him now, and you've made your choice." He stopped to turn back to me, still against the wall. "I'm going to respect that choice, Mira and in return you're going to get the hell out of my life."

"Isaac I-"

But he cut me off, "Here's what we're going to do. You'll come with us to the trial, you can stay until everything is finished and then you're going to call your god and disappear the way you did that night. But this time," he looked me in the eyes so I knew he was serious, "you aren't going to come _back_."

My eyes were burning, and when I blinked, I felt hot tears spilling down over my cheek. Strangely, I didn't care about them, or the fact that they proved Isaac was hurting me. All I could think was that he didn't want me. After all he'd put me through, everything he did to me, it would all end with abandonment. He was going to throw me away just like he did all his playthings when he got tired of them.

I was too upset for rage, though I felt it, churning deep in my chest. It boiled and hissed at this rejection, but by the time it made its way to the surface, was nothing more than impotent anguish. I never knew the vampire could make me feel like this, and it was sobering to realize how much I really did care. Funny that I hadn't known until he was leaving me.

"Jesus woman, I'm trying to give you what you want." Isaac exclaimed when I began to sniffle down my tears. At this, however, I glared up at him and shook my head.

"You're trying to get back at me, you lying son of a bitch. Don't try to paint it any other way."

The vampire sighed, looking down a moment and nodded, "It's working, isn't it?"

I straightened, jaw clenched and ready to give him a piece of my mind when something outside the room started ringing. We both paused, listening as Sanura answered the plane's built-in phone, and as the muffled conversation went on, Isaac's expression hardened even more. He cursed hotly under his breath and then traced from the room, leaving the partition door swinging open. I made it out there just as she hung up the phone and began to massage her temple. Josep laughed to himself from his seat, eyes still closed and Sanura turned to the angry Isaac.

"This is going to cost us another couple of days, but they're taking them both when we hit ground." Her voice was strained, so Isaac touched her shoulder.

"Colette won't hold the trial until we get there. The bitch won't let us miss it. They'll be fine."

"What about Mira?" Sanura asked, glancing my way and frowning at the tears I had yet to wipe from my face.

Isaac looked to me briefly and turned back to her. "She'll come with us and you can look after her."

"I'm not going to let you walk into a pack of-"

"Would you rather bring her with us?" he asked pointedly. Sanura thought a moment, then looked at me, eyes going wide just a moment. She looked down at her hands and began to fidget.

"I forgot." She murmured, then cursed, "I still don't like it."

"I'll be fine, Nura, we just get it done and get out. They won't start anything unless they're geared for war and if that's the case…" he sighed, "We're fucked anyway."

"What's going on?" I asked. Isaac didn't even look at me to respond.

"It doesn't concern you Mira."

"Well if I'm going to be there I think you could at least-"

"No." he snapped, turning to fix me with an expression so cold it chilled my heart, "You won't. You're going to sit in a hotel room with Sanura and keep to yourself and then we can get right back to the original plan. This changes nothing."

"Isaac there's no reason to be cruel." Josep interjected, finally opening his eyes to frown at his friend.

"There are several, but if you don't like it, _you_ can comfort her. That isn't my job anymore."

"It never was." I spat and turned on my heel to slam the partition door behind me.

Thankfully no one followed and I was free to curl up on the bed and bury my face in the mattress. I could hear them talking outside, but didn't understand them because they switched to another language. What that meant was they were most likely talking about me, so I did my best not to drive myself crazy wondering what they were saying. I took comfort in the anger that grew in Sanura's voice as she argued with Isaac. I imagined that she was cursing him for being such an idiot, and to this thought, I finally drifted into sleep.

* * *

**Originally, I wanted to go right into the next bit of action in here, but I think that would have dulled the effect of this conversation. I want it to really sink in that Isaac, who might as well be a spurned woman at this point, has thrown in the towel.**

**And then there's this new task set by the Queen. What could she possibly have them doing that Isaac, even in his anger, would wish to keep from Mira?**

**Dun Dun _Duuuuuuuun_**

**Let me know what you think. Tee hee, I suppose there might be a few angry words thrown my way, but i can't help but let you stew a little. So please, throw your verbal stones and let's get to it! WHOOT WHOOT! And I will be posting the next bit as soon as I can flesh it out. Oh my, I'm excited.**


	27. Cold Wind Blows

We'd landed when Sanura came in to wake me. Despite the lengthy flight between countries, she still seemed agitated and nervous. Not knowing how I could make any difference, though, I kept quiet and let her gather my things for me as we all got ready to leave the plane.

In the main cabin, Josep was sitting in the same seat he'd been in when I'd passed out. His attention was on the window, but it was too dark outside for me to make out what had him frowning. I had a good idea, but didn't like it in the least. Lidia was squawking like a crazed grackle in her seat while Isaac tried to calm her, but she too seemed to know what was outside and refused to leave.

"You can't!" she cried slapping away Isaac's hand when he tried to gently lift her from her seat. "You promised, Isaac. You _promised_ you wouldn't let them hurt me!"

"No one's going to hurt you, bit." He grunted when she kicked out and hit him in the gut. "But you have to calm down."

"I don't want to go with him, Isaac _please_. Don't let him take me."

"No one's gunna hurt you, you crazy little shit, unless you keep carrying on like this." Sanura scowled at the psychic and gathered up her bags. I moved to follow but Lidia suddenly shrieked and lobbed her water glass at me. Josep appeared at my side in time to smack it away and drag me back with a hiss. The girl shrank back, but kept her narrowed hateful eyes on me.

"You're fault." She seethed as Isaac dragged her up out of her seat, finally losing his patience. "All of it is _your fault._"

"Really?" I shot back, moving to attack her, but Josep held me back. "And why is that?"

Lidia shook her head, hands going up to cover her ears and rocking back and forth, "Because." Was her only answer, to which Isaac hissed and grabbed her upper arm, wrenching it away from her face.

"We don't have time for this, bit. Why are you-"

"_Because_." She repeated, then again and again, growing in volume. "Because _because_ **because Because** _**BECAUSE**_!" Then she fell against him, head resting on his chest with a weary smile. Her voice was ragged and soft as she sang the rest to the tune of We're Off to See the Wizard. "_because of the wonderful things she does_…"

"Of course!" I cried with an angry laugh, "It's my fault because of the Wizard of Oz. Everything's so clear now."

"Stop it." Isaac snapped, shooting me a scathing glare before turning back to Lidia. She was quieter now, and clung to him as if her life depended on it.

"_You_ stop it." I shot back. "I for one am tired of the vague bullshit visions." I jolted forward, still restrained by Josep, "Either stop with the riddles or shut the fuck up."

"Mira, that's not helping." Sanura sighed, then went quiet at my glare. She had no room to talk and we all knew it. Josep pulled me back again, brushing the hair from my face in an attempt to calm me.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about half the time, sweetheart, it isn't her fault Isaac left her in a hole for most her life."

The vampire in question laughed caustically but didn't get the chance to retort before I was raving again. Waking up to her screaming had put me on edge and the idea that once we left this plane Josep would be taken wasn't helping in the least.

"Then what the hell good is a psychic?" I demanded. I thought back to the night I'd met her, the night I'd met Cern. "She knew about my soul. We thought she was talking about Isaac turning me, but it was Cern. She called him the Sun, said he'd steal the light from me. Maybe if she didn't speak like a children's rhyme I'd still have my fucking soul." I glared at the girl, furious for no good reason other than grief. "Am I still hollow and cold, Lidia? Were you right?"

To my surprise she shook her head, "Not hollow now. He fixed that." She smiled faintly and stood straight, "he filled you back up with his light."

"Enough." Isaac snapped, shaking her. "We're going, and _you're_ going to behave or I'll bloody thump you."

Lidia nodded, and was hauled to the cabin door. My heart began to hammer when it opened and I heard the sound of engines. Josep felt me tense and his fingers laced with mine, squeezing gently. I grabbed my bag watching Isaac and the others move out onto the stairway and disappear into the dark.

"I'll be fine, Mira. Don't torture yourself." Josep murmured as we moved onto the stairs and headed for the black asphalt of the runway.

"Don't lie to me." I replied.

There were three cars waiting for us at the bottom and I just knew the black-suited people standing around them were vampires. The closest car was off and when Josep and I had made it to the others, its door opened. My eyes widened at the man who stepped out onto the runway and my grip on Josep's hand tightened even more. I _knew_ that man.

Or at least, I thought I had.

"Ryan?" I couldn't help myself; the surprise just pushed the word out of my mouth.

The shadow seemed just as thrown by my presence, but tried to cover it with a charming smile. The effect was hampered however by the fact that he was here to escort Josep to his execution.

"Wow, Mira. How have you been?" he glanced at my hand, still laced with Josep's, then at the irritated Isaac. "Did you have fun in England?"

"Why are you here?" I demanded.

He cleared his throat, "I assumed you'd been told."

"No," I snapped, "Why are _you_ here, personally?"

Isaac sighed heavily, glaring at the stiff vampire that had moved to take Lidia. She seemed reluctant to fight him, which surprised me, "He works for Colette, Mira." He said, tone suggesting he thought me an idiot. "Has from the start. He followed us to that club the first night, and when I made it clear I didn't trust him, he moved on to Sanura."

"You make it sound so dirty." Ryan smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm just doing as I'm told. Like you, Isaac. Let's not make this personal."

"Too late for that." Sanura snapped, eyeing him like something she wanted to eat. I think Ryan knew it too, because his smile tightened and he shot her nervous glance.

"Why don't we just get this over with then?" he said, moving toward Josep and I. I drew back against the vampire, clinging to his hand and grabbing his sleeve. The shadow saw this and chuckled.

"Colette has a little business she needs taking care of, so if you wouldn't mind coming with us Mr. Prahlow they could get on their way."

"We don't even have the girl yet." Isaac snapped, but Ryan only smiled that infuriatingly friendly way and shook his head.

"That is not important. You must first make the arrangements with the pack leader, before the beasts blame us for her disappearance. The package will be delivered to you by tomorrow night." He shrugged, "If they are not willing to make a deal, then we will simply kill her, and the entire transaction becomes moot."

"What is he talking about?" I asked, but Josep shook his head, motioning that I should be quiet. It killed me to ignore my curiosity, but I obeyed, trusting Josep above the others. Had Isaac shushed me at the moment, I would have told him to go fuck himself. I felt like doing so anyway, just because.

"Are they expecting us?" Isaac asked, watching Lidia as she was shut in one of the cars and the engine rumbled as if it were an animal and had just swallowed her whole. "Or is this another job from which she doesn't expect me to live?"

Ryan laughed, "She wouldn't have sent you to the forest if she didn't think you'd survive. In fact, she expected your human to serve as a distraction. The Fae are more likely to attack a pretty thing like her than a dead man." He offered me a short, disinterested glance, having dropped the pretence of friendship between us. "But I see she's doing fine. Still doesn't pick her friends any better though."

"Fuck you, you little lackey. I'll have you know I've met a G-"

"**Mira**," Isaac interrupted, giving me a meaningful look, "Enough. Why don't you and Sanura go get in the car?" He looked back at Ryan, "I assume one of these is for our use?"

The shadow nodded, but his attention had shifted to me, and the interest was clear. "What _did_ you meet in the forest?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Some fuzzy rabbits and a deer."

He chuckled, but it was obvious he knew I was lying. Thankfully he didn't push the subject. A large vampire, who'd been on a cell phone through the entire exchange, strode up to Ryan and handed over the phone with a scowl.

"We need to go." He said shortly, then gave Josep a pointed look. The vampire sighed beside me and turned to extract himself from my tight hold. When I tried to protest, he gave me a disarmingly charming smile and cupped my face in his hands.

"Hush, darling, they won't do anything to me while we're waiting for you. Don't worry."

I shook my head, looking down at my feet. "You're lying again."

Josep didn't bother denying it; he simply smiled, lifting my face to kiss my cheek. "Won't you give me a sweet goodbye?"

That was it, tears pricked the backs of my eyes and I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. The vampire chuckled, and Ryan rolled his eyes, checking his watch pointedly. Sanura pushed passed him, knocking the bastard into the big vampire and wrapped her arms around Josep and me.

After what was not nearly enough time, Isaac cleared his throat. Despite my anger at him, I knew it wasn't to be rude. He understood our need to comfort ourselves, just as I understood that his pride wouldn't allow him to do the same.

Ryan, however didn't care. He nodded toward the big vampire at his right, glaring holes into Sanura's back and we were surrounded. Sanura noticed them first, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into her arms, whispering that it would all be alright. Josep offered one last smile before he was grabbed from both sides and walked to the second car. I tried to pull away from Sanura, but she shook her head and gently pulled me toward the last car. Isaac stood beside the driver's door as Sanura pulled me into the back, stoking my hair and letting me cry quietly into her shoulder.

"I know, kitten." She murmured, blinking away a red tinted tear of her own.

Isaac slid into the driver's seat, his knuckles white on the steering wheel and watched Ryan and the others file into the cars. The shadow was smiling again, looking smug, and when our car rumbled to life, he gave a mocking wave.

"Run him over." I mumbled, wiping my eyes, but he was already getting into the car.

It was over. Josep was gone.

The following drive, took little under an hour. We stopped at a gas station to refuel and Sanura bought some snacks for me since I hadn't eaten since getting on the plane. The rest of the drive was silent save the music Isaac blasted to distract himself, but no one was complaining.

We arrived at a motel just inside the Texas border shortly after and Isaac disappeared inside to get us a room. It was a change from the normal finery I'd come to expect from Isaac, but again I didn't complain. I was too upset to say much of anything. In my mind, I played out gruesome scenes in which Josep was tortured. It didn't matter how badly I tried to block them out.

Our room was average. Two beds and a small bathroom. The staff hadn't even bothered to supply us with fresh towels and I had a sneaking suspicion the bed sheets were just as used. When I mentioned this, Sanura smiled and disappeared, promising to return with some, still trying to comfort me any way she could. This left me alone with Isaac, but at the moment, I didn't really care.

"They're going to hurt him, aren't they?" I asked once the silence had grown too heavy.

Isaac, apparently too upset to remember our fight either, nodded. "Yes."

"And there was nothing we could have done?"

"Not unless you really wanted to die tonight." He replied.

I sat on the bed closest to the bathroom and hugged my knees to my chest. "What about Lidia?"

"Do you really care?" he asked harshly, but my look made him pause. Sighing, he turned to his bag and began digging through it. "I don't know what they'll do with her. I suspect Colette is only curious, she's never had her own seer before."

I nodded, resting my chin on my knees and watched him. Since leaving the runway, he'd been tense and that wasn't going away. I didn't want to fight with him anymore, hadn't really wanted it in the first place. My anger was getting the best of me more often these days, and part of me wondered if this was due to my soul. Tonight, however, I knew we all needed comfort, even if Isaac was too proud to admit it.

He was ignoring me now, so he didn't notice when I slipped off the bed and sank down behind him. I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head against his shoulder and feeling him stiffen under me.

"I'm so sorry Isaac." I said, voice hitching as more tears threatened to overtake me. The vampire didn't relax, but stood, pulling from my grasp. He refused to look at me now and instead fiddled with his phone.

"It had nothing to do with you." He replied stiffly, "This would have happened regardless."

"And I'm sorry." I replied, following him to grab his wrist and turn him to look at me. His eyes were black when I did, but it didn't frighten me. I told myself it was for Josep, for losing one of the few actual friends he had. "I know I wasn't close to him, and I can't possibly miss him more than you or Sanura, but I am sorry. It was cruel for Colette to make you do this."

Isaac stared at me a long moment, his expression guarded, then he pulled from my grasp to move to the door.

"Tell Sanura I went to meet with them and that I want the both of you to stay here until I'm back."

He didn't give me a chance to respond before he'd disappeared out the door and left me alone in the room. Not that I would have known what to say anyway. The fact that I wanted to comfort him at all was what surprised me. I still felt the sting of his rejection, and the longer it lasted, the more I realized that it bothered me. When had I started wanting him again? Or was it simply the notion that he didn't want me? The idea that the vampire would leave me had never really crossed my mind before and now, knowing that Josep's trial was edging closer, I liked it less and less.

Sanura returned with towels half an hour later, the life-like flush under her mocha skin evidence that she'd fed. I excused myself to shower, for no other reason than to distract myself and took my time. When I'd finished and hour had passed and Sanura was gazing blankly at some reality show. She snapped back to reality once she noticed me and put on a smile for my benefit, motioning for me to join her on the bed.

"So what do we do now?" I asked after we'd watched a few of the idiotic episodes in silence.

She glanced at the window, then checked her phone, frowning when she found no messages.

"How long will he be gone?" I asked.

"I have no idea." She responded distractedly.

"Is he in any danger?"

She glanced at me, then back at her phone and huffed, standing suddenly. "Maybe, I don't know."

"Then why did he go alone?"

"I don't know, Mira."

"Do you want to go after him?" I pushed, "just in case?"

She sighed, beginning to pace. "I can't leave you here alone."

"I'm not going to run or anything."

At that she laughed, shaking her head, but the humor fled almost instantly after and I was sad to see it go.

"I trust you, kitten, but Isaac would be furious if I left you unprotected."

"Then take me with you." I stood, wringing my hands. I couldn't sit here anymore. I needed to do something, anything. Strangely, the promise of danger was comforting. If I was thinking about keeping myself safe, I couldn't think about Josep being tortured anymore.

She however, shot it down with a quick shake of the head. "Isaac told us to wait here."

"And you always listen to Isaac?" She arched a brow, knowing that I was just pushing, but I couldn't stop myself. "What if he gets hurt? Are we really going to sit here while we lose another friend?"

It was low, and I saw the pain flash across her expression the same time regret tightened my chest. After a moment however, Sanura cursed under her breath.

"You wouldn't go if you knew where he was." She tried, but it was obvious she'd already consented. I shrugged and grabbed my sweater.

"It's not more fairies is it?" she shook her head, "Then don't tell me, and let's stop wasting time."

Isaac hadn't taken the car, so thankfully I wouldn't have to ride on Sanura's back to get to wherever we were headed. We drove along a back road as she consulted a digital map on her phone. It didn't take long however for her to pull us off the road and into the trees parking the car just out of sight.

"We'll walk from here." She said and this all began to feel frighteningly familiar.

"And you're sure about the Fae?"

She nodded distracted, "We're just going to check on him. If he's ok, we leave and he never has to find out, if not…" she trailed off and I arched a brow.

"If not?"

Sanura sighed, "We hope like hell there aren't too many of them."

I almost asked what, but figured, for the sake of my nerves, I didn't want to know and we continued on. It was almost 2 am now and the moon was a giant waxing crescent above us. It was bright enough to afford some light, but I still had to rely on Sanura so as not to trip over myself. I was still clumsy, and I don't think, at this point, that would ever change.

For being so dangerous, the forest was quiet, save the occasional call of nocturnal wildlife and the snapping of trigs beneath my feet. I did however notice that the farther we went, the tenser Sanura became until even the animals had her attention. That didn't bode well, but I forced myself to dismiss it. There was still the chance that Isaac was fine and that we would do this without incident.

That is what kept me going.

Somewhere far off in the woods I heard the call of a wolf and laughed at myself for jumping. Sanura on the other hand went still and stared off into the direction it had come from. Idly I wondered how far she could see with a vampire's eyes, knowing that her other senses were so heightened. What must it be like? Not that I had any desire to become a vampire. Sucking the blood out of people every time I got hungry just didn't sound like a fun way to live. It didn't do it for me. Suddenly Sanura turned to me, glancing up at the thick branches of the tree above us and offered me a far too cheery smile.

"I need to go alone from here," she held up a hand when I began to protest, speaking softly, "Just to see what's ahead, I think we're getting close. I'll be back once I sweep the area."

"And what do I do until then?" I asked, nervous despite my inner mantra of _It's All Going to be Fine._

The vampire smiled and slipped her arm around my waist, and then the world rocketed upward. When my head stopped spinning, I was up in the tree, close enough to the ground that I could climb down myself, but hidden in the leaves. Sanura patted my head making sure that I was situated and glanced back off into the distance.

"Now try to stay quiet, I'll be back quickly." She moved to jump down but paused, glancing back at me, "and please, Mira, try not to fall." I nodded, frowning and watched the vampire jump to the ground, disappearing before the grass at her feet was disturbed.

And then there was silence.

I leaned back against the trunk of the tree, holding tightly to a branch above my head, thankful that the leaves blocked the wind from whipping me with my hair. It didn't look as if there would be any storms tonight, but there was a mild wind that couldn't seem to decide which direction it wanted to blow.

What Sanura called quick, seemed to be forever. Eventually, I found myself humming softly to keep my mind off my surrounding. It was funny, but even after all I'd seen, the _real_ monsters I'd come across, a dark forest still put me on edge. I told myself that as reluctant as she'd been to take me at all, Sanura would never have left me alone if she thought I'd be in trouble.

At least until I heard the footsteps.

Off to my left I heard the snapping of twigs and two separate pairs of running feet. I grabbed tightly to the branch above me, careful not to disturb the leaves and leaned out to see where it came from, holding my breath in my tension.

A girl dashed from the bushes and under my tree with a soft cry. When she turned to look behind her, her foot caught on an exposed root and she tripped. She didn't fall however, simply rolled with it, natural as could be and jumped back up. Unfortunately, it cost her enough time that her follower shot beneath me as well and speared into her from behind.

The girl cried out, rolling as the man tumbled over her and popped back up onto his feet. When she tried to crabwalk away from him, he shot forward and grabbed her by her shirtfront, slamming her into a tree a few yards from mine. The girl groaned, trying to fight her way from his grip, but he smiled and slammed her back again, making her go momentarily limp.

My heart was racing in my chest, beating so loud in my ears I feared this man might hear me. I had yet to see his face, but if his muscular build was any sign, this woman needed help, and I was the only one around. Waiting for Sanura would take too long. She didn't have that kind of time.

I made a decision then, that I knew was completely idiotic, but what choice did I have really? Unless I planned to watch whatever he planned to do to her and hope that he didn't find me when he was done. At this point, cowardice was not an option. So, being as quiet as I was physically capable of being, I began a slow decent from the tree. Thankfully another of her cries covered the sound of my landing and I took special care not to step on any dry leaves or sticks this time. I did however find myself a decent fallen branch, big enough to be used as a club, and then moved into the shadows to begin sneaking up on the man.

"Let me go!" the girl cried, her sun bleached blond hair tangling in her face as she thrashed beneath his weight. Her attacker only laughed.

"But then you would run away. It would defeat the purpose." He replied in a voice far too pleasant and playful to belong to a rapist. And judging by the way his hand skimmed down her thigh once he'd secured her hands, that's exactly what he was. The girl shoved at him with no luck, trying to pull away from the hand that had slipped under her knee-length skirt.

"Get off!" she spat, to which he chuckled again.

"I'm trying to, Cass. Stop struggling." As he said this, the girl went stiff against the tree and let out a startled gasp, which I could only assume was from the movement under her skirt.

"_Sabin_." She managed to get out in a hoarse whisper, right before he leaned forward and kissed her.

When she kissed him back, I froze.

"We're supposed to be searching the woods." The girl said breathily as the man, Sabin, began nibbling at her neck. She gasped again, letting her head fall back against the tree and closed her eyes, evidence that she was perfectly happy to continue here.

Had I really just stumbled across two horney humans? How embarrassing! And what the hell was I supposed to do now? I considered making myself known, but didn't want to deal with the humiliation or answer the questions that might come after as to why I was alone in the woods at 2 in the morning. Unfortunately, that left only trying to sneak away before I was discovered.

"The others are looking Cassidy. If he's not stupid he'll have come alone."

I paused at this, looking back at them from behind a tree. Cassidy frowned, trying to speak, but it was cut off by the moan that escaped her lips when Sabin's hand shifted beneath her skirt again. After a moment however, she shook her head.

"Wait…_wait,_" she said breathily. With a heavy sigh, he paused. "Do you really think he'd come alone? I mean, no vampire is that stupid right?"

A chill shot down my spine at this. They were talking about Isaac, they had to be. What the hell was I going to do?

"Pray that he's an idiot. Then we'd get to kill him." Sabin replied, but Cassidy shook her head.

"Then we need to be looking. Malachi-"

"Has enough people working out here already." He interrupted, then titled his head to kiss her neck. "Now what would you rather do; look for vampires that aren't here, or take off your clothes and have a little fun while we still have the chance."

She considered this a moment, then grinned wickedly, answer enough. "Will you be gentle?" she asked huskily.

"Never." He replied and sent her into another series of moans.

I was embarrassed and mortified all at once, and currently ready to pee myself. What the hell should I do? I couldn't go after Sanura, not when she could be across the forest. The fact that I now knew an unspecified amount of other people was scouring the trees for intruders made this even worse. How could I warn her when I couldn't even leave? The wind whipped my hair around my face, blinding me a moment before changing its direction again and shooting toward the strangers. I would have dismissed it if both hadn't gone stiff a second later.

"What _is_ that?" Cassidy asked, eyes snapping open to scan the trees around me. I froze, holding my breath lest I give myself away. They could _smell_ me. That meant they weren't human, and that I was in more trouble than I'd thought.

I was beginning to regret not listening to Isaac.

Sabin finally turned my direction, giving me my first glimpse of his face. I noticed vaguely that he was handsome before my attention zeroed in on his eyes. I glanced at hers, sucking it a quiet breath when I saw that they had changed. They were no longer blue as they'd been and I could only assume his had changed as well. They stole the light of the moon above us and reflected it back. It took me a moment to figure out why fear had clenched in my gut like coiling snakes. Why I_ recognized_ those eyes, yellow and reflective, like an animal. Then it came to me, the world shifted on its axis, and I feared my legs would give out beneath me.

Eyes like an animal.

"No." I breathed, feeling my heart pound in my chest so hard it felt as if it would burst through my ribcage. I knew what they were, why Isaac and Sanura had refused to tell me the details of this trip, and the realization made me want to vomit.

_Werewolves._

These were _werewolves._

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun!**

**I don't think the next chapters will take long because I've had them written since the 5****th**** chapter. I'd debated whether or not I would even put these chapters in this story, but I just can't help myself. I loved them too much to keep them to myself, and it will set up a teensy bit for the sequel…assuming I finish it. Then again, I love this story too much now to stop. It's the first original work I've posted and stuck with in a loooong time and I think it's going to stay with me.**

**Sabin is pronounced **_**Say-bin **_

**I'm going to assume you all know the correct pronunciation of Malachi, as I haven't a clue how to spell it out phonically for you.**

**And I might as well get this out now, but the werewolf characters to come are taken from another story I've written, Sabin being the main dude, bwaha. The were-world is a muuuuch different place than the vampire's and I hope to show you as much of it as practical in the chapters to come.**

**Sabin, like Daniel, is one of my favorites to write. And while I can't offer you a posted story on the wolves now, I do have the first chapter up on fictionpress…though it's a little fucked up and Sabin hasn't been introduced in it yet. the rest is written in various spirals in my room...who know when they shall be transfered to the mighty Interwebs.**

**I love being able to mix my cast of monsters throughout my different stories. **

**FUN FACT! Isaac started out as a comic relief in Daniel's story, which is the first I ever wrote in this world( as in this "universe" not the first I ever wrote, THAT was a short story in 1****st**** grade about teachers who'd been possessed and were eating and infesting the students…and subsequently got me sent to the school councilor. BUT THEY COULD NEVER STOP MY WRITING HAHAHAHAHAHA!) It was the story of the girl Daniel turned (the one that fed him glass and tried to set him ablaze…ah…true love) Isaac was crass and hilarious and loved to make Daniel's life difficult, but wasn't really a big part of the story. It wasn't until later that his character started to grow and I began writing little ficlets, playing with his character and tweaking him into something that could work as a stand-alone.( I've debated whether to post those on this site, along with scenes that have been cut from this story including one crazy version of how Mira and Isaac got to sexin', but I'm not sure yet.)**

**And thus, The Breath of Lies was born. (Which by the way, I am aware is a fucking stupid title. I don't even know what the hell it means, but I wrote it down one night and my friend was all "That sounds awesome!" so it just kinda stuck. Can't trust NOBODY up in this bitch.)**

**I'd explain a little about Sabin and Accalia's (A-Call-ia) story but I'd like you to get to know my boy on your own. For instance, whether or not he is a good person or a complete monster…like Daniel.**

**And why, you might be asking is Daniel mentioned so often in this story? What purpose could there be for a random vampire from an entirely different tale to be continually brought up? Well…that IS the question isn't it?**

**REGARDING THIS CHAPTER**

**Lidia has spouted a few pretty ridiculous sounding things in her appearances in this story, but that doesn't mean they should be dismissed. I called attention to that fact at the beginning of this chapter in hopes that it might peak your interest. Yes she speaks in riddles, but are all of them nonsense? Perhaps just a few…or even more than a few are hints at what is to come. In fact, seeing as I don't think you'll be able to completely translate her lines, in her first chapter she told everyone what comes in the end. The majority of her lines give at least little bits of the future away, but are too random and strange to really understand until they've happened.**

**So, if you are interested enough, it could be fun figuring them out. Or you could just read, and ignore the crazy speak as the others do. Either way, she's an insightful little thing. For instance, and honestly this won't give anything away, so don't worry about it too much, she says in this one "Don' let him take me." Him? Hmmmm…interesting.**

**Sorry to toot my own horn about this, but I just couldn't sit back on it anymore. I put a bit of thought into her glimpses into the future, trying my best to make them easily dismissible as nonsense or pertaining to the scene at hand, when really...they aren't. I might have done too good a job at that, so for my own sake I have to point out that it's going on.**

**Jesus, this turned into an EPIC fucking author's note.**


	28. Angry Puppy

Fear spun the world around me until I was dizzy. It numbed my body so that the branch, my only weapon, fell to the ground at my feet with a _thunk_ and alerted the wolves to my exact location. It choked off the air in my lungs and froze me in place so that when they pulled away from the tree to investigate I couldn't run. I couldn't even move.

"Well, Cass," Sabin said, eyes on the tree I was standing behind, "Looks like you were right."

She didn't seem as amused by this fact as he did and clenched her hands into tight fists at her sides. "Is it a vampire?" she asked, and the fear in her voice might have made a less terrified girl feel a little better.

"If it was, it would have traced by now." He replied, then smiled toward me, though I knew they hadn't actually seen me yet.

From what had been explained to me by the hunters, werewolves did have keen senses, the best of which being their sense of smell, which surpassed even a vampire's. Their eyesight however, while greatly more acute than any human could hope to be, was nothing compared to a bloodsucker. In the dark, they're ability to see was only fractionally better than my own. I however had already been sniffed out thanks to the change in wind. The same way I had back in Windsor forest, when Josep had attacked me.

"Am I right?" I realized that the wolf was speaking to me, but didn't have the ability to respond if I'd wanted to. "That just leaves one option, assuming you're here with the vampire, and it's too much of a coincidence for you not to be."

"A shadow?" Cassidy asked, and her tension drained just a bit.

Sabin stepped forward, keeping his posture unthreatening, or attempting to, though it was a moot point with me. "So you're human, aren't you?" he asked, smiling a devilish grin that nearly put Isaac's to shame. "You came here because he told you to, I get that, but I'm going to take you in. There's no getting around it."

At the thought of being any closer to the wolves, my body finally released and I fell back a step, snapping a twig beneath my foot.

"Don't be stupid." He said at the sound, leaning forward as if readying a charge. "You must know what I am, which means you know that you can't outrun me. If you try I'll have to assume you're a threat and I _will_ catch you. Don't make it come to that."

I stared at him from my hidden place in the shadows of the trees, not daring to move again. I wasn't stupid enough to think this meant he was friendly; he just wanted to avoid complications and was trying to appeal to me as best he could, given the circumstances. That didn't meant I could bolt either, which left me frozen again, and trembling as if I'd just swam a frozen river.

"Sabin, what are you waiting for?" Cassidy hissed, her yellow-gold wolf eyes shining when the light hit them. "Stop fucking around and _get_ it."

Thankfully he ignored her, and instead took a small step forward.

"I promise I won't hurt you if you cooperate," he said, and I nearly laughed in my panic. "You can't stay here. If you don't come out I'll have to come get you."

"Sabin!" Cassidy tried again, and he turned to shoot her a look. I took that moment to fall back a few more steps and his head snapped back the second I did.

"I won't warn you again. Either come out right now, or this will turn ugly."

I closed my eyes, sucking air into my starved lungs and swallowed the whimper of fear that tried to push from my throat. There was nothing in this world I could think of that I wanted less than to obey. Hell, if I'd thought it would help, I would have climbed the tree in front of me rather than walk into the moonlight where they could see me. Unfortunately, I had no choice, and if it kept them at bay for even a minute longer, I had to do it. My knees nearly gave out when I moved forward, and the world once again began spinning, but I braced myself against the tree and with a deep breath, stepped around it.

Whatever Sabin had expected to emerge from the shadows, it hadn't been _me_. Not a small, thin girl. He stared at me transfixed a moment, confusion sliding across his face and then disappearing just as quickly. He titled his head, looking me over, then grinned and glanced back at the angry, female werewolf.

"Go tell Malachi we have more visitors than we'd thought."

Cassidy, wringing her hands, looked between us and gulped. "But if she's here there has to be more. What if I run into an actual vamp?"

Sabin's eyes snapped to her, lighting up to their strange buttery-gold color and he let out a low growl that shouldn't have been capable of leaving human vocal cords. Not even Isaac sounded like a _real_ animal when he growled. The girl ducked her head in a sign of submission and sped off into the trees like a bullet.

"As for_ you_," He said turning back to me and sending a cold slither of fear through my gut with the attention, "Where has you're master run off to? I don't think he'd leave a pretty thing like you all by yourself." When he smiled every tooth was pointed, "These woods are dangerous for little girls."

I nearly jumped from my skin when a howl rose up from the trees not far off. It was greeted by another and then another, making my stomach twist into knots and my hands shake violently at my sides. The wolf say this, and his confidence doubed visibly. Not that i think he was trying to hide it at all.

"Speaking of which," Sabin murmured, cocking his head toward the sound. "I think we found your friend."

"_No_." I chanted under my breath, "_No no no_…"

Sabin glanced my way. Despite the yard or two of distance between us, he'd heard me. Before he could comment however, Sanura stumbled through the thick trees, a great mammoth of a man holding her by the upper arm. He was followed by a shorter young man in torn jeans and nothing else. The giant came to a stop near Sabin, nodding toward Sanura who seemed to be checking that I was uninjured. His voice was deep, nearly a growl, as he spoke.

"We found it wondering around at the edge of the property. She's with the other one, but she _claims_ he ordered her to stay off our land."

Sabin checked to see I was still there before turning to the mammoth. "Send out a bigger party to search the rest of the territory. If there are any other leeches roaming around I want them taken in."

"And if they resist?" The smaller boy asked, his restless brown eyes skipping between Sanura and me.

Sabin didn't hesitate. "Kill them."

"And this one?" The big guy asked giving Sanura a rough shake.

"Don't hurt her!" The words just flew out of my mouth. All eyes went to me and Sanura frowned, a bit confused. She shook her head letting it hang forward, exasperated as Sabin started to laugh.

"_Oh_! OK. I get it." He said, looking between us. "That's _hot_." He mocked clapping once in amusement. Sanura straitened, batting her lashes at me for their benefit.

"Don't listen to them, kitten. The pigs are just jealous."

"Who wouldn't be?" the little one grinned, but Sabin growled inhumanly again, baring his teeth.

"Don't you have something to do?" he asked. The kid sighed heavily and moved to leave.

"On it." He said, less than thrilled, then disappeared in the direction Cassidy had taken.

"We should bring them to Malachi. He won't like that the leech isn't keeping to his word." The mammoth said looking over Sanura with mild interest.

"Well shit." Sanura sighed, "Isaac's gunna kill me."

"He might not get the chance." The Mammoth said lifting her up onto her toes.

I'd wrapped my arms around myself a long time ago, ready to collapse into the fetal position if any of them came toward me. How could this be happening? Anything, _ANYTHING_ except werewolves. Why hadn't Isaac told me? I would have locked myself in our hotel room and remained there until we left the state.

Something large disrupted the ground just beyond the trees. While Sabin and the others seemed uninterested, my head snapped in its direction. _Please no_. I thought. I couldn't see one, not like that. My shaking grew more violent, my eyes wide, and I had trouble taking my next breath. Fear knotted in my stomach so tightly I thought I would vomit.

And then a great shadow stepped from the trees. It wasn't just a wolf; that was easy enough to tell. The beast was too big, easily the size of a bear, and its front legs were longer than any wolf's, a mix of canine and human. Should it want, it could stand upright. Its shoulders could rotate as far as any human, which meant it was deadly both on two legs and four. Its teeth were longer than the average wolf when it bared them at the no doubt unpleasant smell of vampire, more menacing as it shook its great black mane and growled. They were sharp and strong, meant for shredding flesh as any other predator. And then there were the eyes. Big, terrifying yellow eyes that reflected the moonlight when it turned to me, hackles rising, and turned it red as blood.

The teeth and its nearly finger-like front paws held a bacteria of sorts. The infection was incurable once it reached the blood, replicating too fast to be removed. It would burn like fire under the skin until it got to the heart, and then it was too late. It moved to the brain then, making them irrational, violent, and paranoid, as it swelled inside their skull. Generally this virus killed, not many could survive the change and subsequent sickness that came with the virus, the boiling blood and agony of the first forced change, so thankfully wolves weren't multiplying like rats. There was always the exceptions however, the strong ones. I remembered these facts, clinging to them as I always had and for a moment I met the beasts eyes, the eyes of an animal, but far too intelligent, as expressive as any human's. _These_ eyes expressed the deep-seeded urge to rip Sanura and me apart for trespassing.

"_No Mira_!"

I heard Sanura yell the words, but couldn't make much sense of them. Didn't care to. All I knew was that my feet were moving back in the direction I'd first come. Branches snagged my hair and clothing, but I didn't care. I had to get away. Oh god, I couldn't be here, not with that thing. Not with _any_ of them.

I hadn't gotten very far when something barreled into me from behind. I screamed, but the sound cut off when I hit the ground and the thing followed, knocking all the air from my lungs and leaving me gasping. We rolled and the thing pinned me on my belly, pressing down over me with a warning growl, but it was hands that held me still, not claws or teeth.

"That was very stupid." Sabin's voice was in my ear. His skin was hot, like he had a fever, and the contrast between us was making my trembling worse.

"Never run from a predator, shadow girl. Do you know why?"

I was crying now, eyes closed and face smashed into the dirt.

"_Food_ runs." He said. I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck. He nuzzled into my hair, drew in the scent of me, and growled low in his throat. The sound he'd made for Cassidy. "And _you_ smell delicious."

"_Don't_…I didn't mean..._please don't hurt me_." I couldn't stop crying, so I'm not sure how he understood me through the sobbing, but the wolf chuckled and gave me a little squeeze.

"Then behave yourself and we won't have a problem." He pulled me to my feet then, letting me draw away from him, but keeping a bruising hold on my arm. I brushed away the dirt on my chest and stomach, but didn't like the way his eyes followed the motion and stopped.

"I'm sorry." I sniffled, wiping my eyes, though it was useless. "I was frightened." Absolute terror had me rambling everything that came into my head, but he didn't seem surprised.

"And now?" he asked, pulling me closer, "Are you still frightened?"

I nodded.

Sabin grinned, eyes flashing pale gold, "Good." And with that he started to walk, dragging me along with him. Panicking, I fought it, digging my heels into the dirt and trying to pry off his fingers with my free hand. It didn't make much of a difference, but seemed to irritate him.

Rolling his eyes, Sabin yanked me closer and lifted me off the ground without even a grunt of effort, throwing me over his shoulder. I screamed, kicking and beating at his back, but he took little notice. He glanced toward the darkness where everyone else still waited and whistled short and loud to signal my capture, then started running through the trees, picking up speed as we went. I don't know how he managed it, but he never tripped, never stumbled or slowed to avoid an obstacle. Every rock and fallen branch was simply leapt over or used as leverage to gain more speed. It was as if he'd been made for the forest. The ride was bumpy, and soon I was clinging to his back rather than hitting it. Eventually the trees thinned however, and his pace slowed. Then, when I thought I would rattle right in half on his shoulder, he was walking again and we'd reached some sort of clearing.

It must have been their house, I thought, seeing what looked to be a small guest house across the huge lawn. There were others here as well, stopping to stare and whisper amongst one another as Sabin carried me toward the main building and up onto a wrap-around porch. Some pointed, others growled like dogs and the rest only stared with open curiosity. From what I could tell, this place was huge, easily able to support a small pack of ravenous dogs like them.

"Alright." I said as Sabin opened a screen door and stepped into the cool room. The house was freezing, but I'm sure to him it was fantastic. "I can walk now." I'm not sure where the courage came from, or perhaps it wasn't courage at all. Perhaps the panic was messing with my head and the fear and anger were taking their toll.

The wolf ignored me, closing the door behind him and greeting the few surprised voices I heard behind me. I didn't like not being able to see where we were going, nor the fact that I was being man-handled by a fucking werewolf.

"Christ, another one?" someone said, sounding disgusted. Chairs scraped across the hard-wood floor and heavy footfalls neared us.

"No, that one's human."

"She smells different."

"Must be a _shadow_." A feminine voice huffed, making the word sound slimy and disgraceful, "Pathetic little bitch, isn't she?"

Sabin laughed at that and was walking again. We moved into a hallway and I glared at the creatures still grouped in the living room, starring at me. The girl who'd spoken had crossed her arms, dark eyes narrowed. On an impulse I couldn't understand, I gave her the finger and watched as that brown lightened and became the goldish-yellow color I associated with these dogs. Like Isaac's black eyes, theirs turned gold. Which meant either Sabin had yet to calm down, or his eyes simply _remained _that color.

What did that say about him exactly?

"Will you let me go already?" I asked, slapping his back. I felt him shake his head and a laugh rumbled up through his chest to jostle me about again.

"Can't have you running off again, now can I?"

"Where the hell would I run? We're inside and I'm surrounded!"

"You're not wrong." He agreed and paused to open another door.

"Put me_ down_, goddamn it!" I cried as he stepped into a wood-paneled room and turned to shut the thick door behind him.

It was an office, large enough to be what seemed the meeting room and filled with 7 others, including a relieved looking Sanura and Isaac, whose eyes were black and narrowed. The former was sitting on a leather couch pressed back against the wall, the huge wolf from before standing beside her with a large hand on her shoulder. Apparently they'd arrived while I was being chased down. Isaac was standing, unguarded, if you didn't count the four wolves scattered around the office and the one sitting behind the large wooden desk. He looked first at me then at the bastard who had yet to put me on my feet, fists balled tightly at his side. Sabin turned back to face the room so I was once again blind to it, shifting me on his shoulder for a better grip.

"I have the pack out looking for others. So far there have only been the leech and her shadow."

"_Put her down_." Isaac said, and it sounded as if he spoke through his teeth.

Sabin's grip on me tightened, but someone else cleared their throat and he paused. By the way the room went suddenly still, I assumed it was the wolf behind the great desk, the one who had to be Malachi. He must have been their Alpha. From what I'd glimpsed, he was older, mid-forties at the least, though built for his age (being an animal must keep them all in great shape) with graying hair and hard copper-colored eyes. I think I might have even spotted a row of scars that stretched from the side of his neck down into his tailored shirt collar. Someone had tried to rip out his throat, it seemed.

"So she is _your_ shadow, vampire?" he asked in a gruff, amused voice. "Then why leave her unattended in the care of another? It was my understanding that your kind does not like to share."

"She wasn't supposed to be here at all. Neither of them was." The last part, I knew, was directed at Sanura because she sighed wearily.

"It was boring at that disgusting place and I was worried about you."

"_Bullshit_." He snapped and she didn't speak again.

This was all fantastic, but it was getting harder to breathe with my ribs crushed against Sabin's shoulder, and I didn't like my ass in the air and facing everyone.

"Isaac, he won't put me down." I said, pushing at his back in an attempt to free myself. The fucker was strong, I'd give him that, but it was getting old fast.

Malachi chuckled, "Sabin, if you'd be so kind…"

The wolf's hand moved up the back of my jeaned legs and over my ass blatantly before he let me slide onto the floor in front of him. He was watching Isaac now, a small smirk to rival the vampire's curling his lips. Being in the room with Isaac bolstered my courage. The moment my feet touched the hardwood, I reared back a fist and punched Sabin in the gut with all the strength I could muster. He stumbled back a step, but laughed at me, grabbing my wrists.

"Lively little bitch, isn't she?" he asked, tugging me back against his chest and holding my wrists in one hand.

"_Excuse_ me?" I asked open-mouthed. From the couch Sanura waved for my attention.

"He means female, sweets, but feel free to be insulted anyway."

"I will." I said, trying to elbow him in the gut, but he avoided it, laughing again with the other wolves in the room.

"Back to the matter at hand." Malachi said, eyeing Sabin in a way that said he wasn't amused. The wolf sobered instantly, along with the others. They listened to their Alpha, which worked for me, though they seemed more like a family than Colette and her Seethe. He was the daddy figure among the rest of these insolent little boys. Point made, he turned his attention to Isaac.

"You say that Accalia is safe, unharmed, and waiting to be delivered to us."

"Correct." Isaac said, taking his focus from Sabin, though it seemed difficult. A tiny part of me felt a swell of something like pride at that.

"Then why is it you're people have not simply brought her back to us? Surely it would be easier than all this." Malachi gestured vaguely at the room.

"It has always been policy to keep what wanders into our territories, Mr. Lykaios, for your people as well as mine. And forgive me, but any vampire dragging one of yours back to your doorstep wouldn't be met with hospitality."

The Alpha smiled, steepling his hands on the desk in front of him. "No. I suppose not." His eyes snapped up suddenly to narrow slightly on Isaac. "But is it not also curious that you promised only one negotiator and brought instead two others?"

"I've told you-"

"I know what you've told me, vampire, but you must know how this looks. Your female was caught circling the boarder of our land, the human roaming its center."

Isaac sighed and leaned forward to place his palms flat on the desk. The movement must have startled the others because several wolves tensed as if to grab him until their Alpha gave a slight wave. They were so protective of their ruler. It seemed so strange after hearing nothing but contempt for Colette and the other elders.

These were two very different worlds.

"What would you like me to do?" Isaac asked, he'd noticed the near attack and was scanning the others from the corner of his eyes.

Malachi shrugged, leaning back in his leather office chair and straitening the pressed sleeve of his expensive suit jacket. "I am prepared to accept your deliverance of the escaped female, but I'll need your assurance that she will not be harmed. Accalia is important to my son, you see." He motioned to Sabin. "A family must continue its line, but…" and here he paused to give a contemptuous smile to Sanura, "You wouldn't understand that would you? Vampires cannot have children, correct?"

I wasn't surprised to catch a brief flicker of something unpleasant cross Sanura's eyes, though it was gone almost instantly. After seeing that her human life had included children, I knew she was _hurt_ by that remark which in turn made me angry. He'd done it on purpose, the bastard, and I wanted very much to throw something or snap back at him, but feared what that would do. We were all in enough trouble already and Isaac didn't need me fucking things up more.

"What can I do?" Isaac asked again, standing strait and fighting the irritation that crept into his voice. He hadn't liked that either.

"Collateral would work." Sabin said suddenly, nodding toward me. "You have _my _woman, and now I have _yours_."

I froze feeling sick again. "_Whoa_, wait just a-"

"Is this the only arrangement we can make?" Isaac asked over me. The Alpha shrugged one shoulder.

"It seems the most reasonable, assuming this human means anything to you."

Isaac turned to look at me, his eyes moving slowly to the wolf behind me, then nodded. "Very well."

"_No_." I said, the panic from before replacing my brief spark of courage. "Isaac, they're _werewolves_. You know that I can't…"

"What choice do I have Mira?" he asked, his tone cold and angry.

Behind me, Sabin chuckled. "Don't worry vampire, I'll take good care of your plaything."

"If you so much as break one of her nails, "Sanura said, eyes darkening, "You'll get your bitch back in pieces."

I might have been flattered by this, if not for the situation. Sabin's eyes locked with Isaac's and he slowly leaned down to breathe in my scent, nuzzling into my hair.

"Best hurry leech, this one's special." he said, and reached around to turn my chin, close enough to kiss me despite my best efforts to pull away. "I could just _eat her up_."

Isaac didn't reply, though his black eyes and the calm that had settled over him said he was furious. I knew him well enough now to realize his suddenly becoming placid was only a cover, and meant danger for those around him. I tried to knee Sabin, though he shifted in time to avoid it again. The vampires moved to leave, Sanura swatting away the mammoth's hand with a feral hiss, which he returned with a menacing growl. She didn't seem impressed and stepped briskly toward the door.

"We'll be back tomorrow night, kitten. Try not to cause any trouble." She gave me a pitying look as Isaac placed a hand on her back to hurry her along.

"This is _Mira_ we're talking about." He said, looking briefly into my eyes, and then the door was opened and they were simply _gone_. When the front door slammed seconds later I felt my stomach drop to the floor, my heart racing so fast in my chest it hurt.

Malachi was watching me when I finally looked away from the door, tapping a pen against his desk. He didn't speak at first, simply studied me while the others waited restlessly for his verdict. There was a hum of excitement building in the room now that the wolves were alone, and this only made me feel sick with fear. I blinked back the tears I couldn't control, too afraid to give a damn whether they thought I was weak.

"May I ask what this is about?" he asked suddenly, looking at Sabin who had yet to pull away from me. At the question, his son pulled me closer, burying his face in my hair with a soft animal growl of pleasure.

"It was the only thing I could think of to keep her." Sabin replied and sat down on the old-fashioned love-seat in front of the desk, dragging me down with him, "God, can't you smell her from there?"

I looked at the other wolves in the room, and all seemed to agree with him. I saw the mammoth man close his eyes in satisfaction at the smell of me. Even Malachi had a brief moment of pleasure before shaking it off and returning to his hard demeanor.

"It is an…interesting scent; I will give you that, but hardly-"

"She smells like _heaven_, father, and don't try to deny it." I sucked in a frightened breath as Sabin grabbed my wrist and pulled me across his lap to breathe in the scent of it. Frowning at my noise, he covered my mouth with his other hand and continued to explore my body.

"What are you?" he breathed against my throat. One of the other wolves had since moved closer, curious about my smell. He closed his eyes sniffing the air, then leaned against the loveseat to get a better smell. A rumble of threatening noise rose out of Sabin's chest, like a dog guarding its food bowl. The other wolf huffed, but retreated. Malachi, who had been content to watch his son fawn over me until now, tapped a finger on his desk to get his attention and motioned to me.

"Special or not, she is now our problem. I can't afford to start a war over one of those bastard's little collectibles. Take her downstairs for now. We can figure out what to do with her when the others have returned. We cannot assume the leeches will keep to their deal and must be prepared to do with her when that happens." He reached into the center drawn of his desk and pulled out a ring of keys, tossing them to his son who caught them easily.

Sabin nodded, squeezing my arm and dragging me back into the hall without a word. I heard the other wolves following him out of the office, leaving Malachi to his thoughts. What was downstairs? Would they hurt me? Surely they had sense enough to leave me alone if they wanted their girl back. _Right?_

We moved back into the living room and into the eager gazes of more pack members, including the female I'd flipped off earlier. She smiled tightly, wiggling her fingers at me while the others whooped and chattered, laughing and pushing playfully at each other. _All_ it seemed were happy to mock the captive.

Sabin pulled me along into a huge kitchen and then down yet another hall passed a set of stairs. Halfway down the hall, he stopped at a dark wooden door and pulled it open to reveal a descending staircase to what must have been the basement. He didn't even bother flicking on a light before he moved to the first step.

"Oh, hell no." I said, grabbing the doorframe and planting my feet on each side of the wall.

He gave me a violent tug that nearly had me flying down the steps, but I held firm despite the pain in my shoulders. With a scowl, Sabin moved back up to the landing.

"Not this again," he sighed, "Honestly, it's like dealing with a toddler."

I grit my teeth and leaned away from him, but the wolf simply bent forward, sweeping his arms around my back and knees and lifted me off the ground like a bride. Granted, it was better than being tossed over his shoulder, but I still didn't like it and was immediately kicking and slapping at him.

"If you keep that up, I'm going to drop you." He said maneuvering us down the steps though I struggled to grab anything along the walls downward. Unfortunately, they were smooth, white concrete and I was given no chance to stop our progress again.

The basement was a large room, easily the expanse of the entire house. There were two wolves working on the gym sets that had been grouped into the far corner under the only lights down here, but they left quickly with one word from Sabin. Though he was young, he seemed to pull weight, but it didn't seem to be because of his father either. Sabin commanded his own power and menace and the others seemed reluctant to challenge that.

My thoughts scattered when I noticed what he was walking toward. Parallel to the stairs, taking up a good section of the basement was what looked like a jail cell. The bars were thicker than any I'd seen before and inside rather than a cot and toilet was a dirty mattress thrown carelessly on the floor.

"What the hell is _that_?" I asked trying again to struggle out of his arms.

"A cage," he said simply, "what does it look like?"

"And you have this _why_?"

He shifted me into one arm to unlock the cell door. When I resisted, Hhe swatted my hand before I could grab hold of the bars and walked me over the mattress, dumping me unceremoniously onto the lumpy thing with a smirk. Then, turning on his heel he left the cage, closing the door behind him with a bang.

"Stay." He said, grinning, and stuffed the key ring into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Better in _here_ than with you animals," I snapped, drawing my knees up to my chest and blinking away the moisture that built in my eyes.

Sabin tsked, otherwise unaffected, and chuckled. "Have a nice night, Riding Hood. Maybe your boyfriend will try to rescue you from the big bad wolves." He crossed the room to the stairs and paused, "I doubt it."

And with that Sabin was taking the steps three at a time and the basement light clicked off, leaving me in near-total darkness. I let myself cry then, great heaving sobs that I didn't care if they heard. I was locked away, the prisoner of _werewolves_. The only creatures in this world I feared more than Isaac or even Cernunnos. I'd seen a werewolf rip into my mother's gut and paint the forest floor with her. It had torn my father into unrecognizable chunks, and my _sister_…god.

Curled tightly around myself, I closed my eyes and wished for tomorrow night when Isaac would come for me and I could lock this all into my nightmares.

* * *

**I got too excited to hold back posting this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it. However, because I'm a terrible person and am desperate to know what you think of it, I'm holding the next chapter hostage until I get at least a little feedback. For instance, what is your initial impression of the wolves…of Sabin?**

**I don't do this merely for my curiosity though, I promise, I really would like to know how this turned out, if it's engaging, and so forth. While I currently write for the fun of it, I do know that there is room for improvement, so I need you guys to let me know what needs improving and what works.**

**Until next time,**

**Calamity**


	29. Little Red

**Hot damn! I should hold chapters hostage more often!**

**I was thrilled and kinda shocked by the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter, and I can't thank you all enough for your support and criticisms. They really helped me get a handle on what you all liked and what you still needed to know. While I can't answer all the questions yet, I've covered a few.**

**That being said, I never meant for this to take so long. The chapter was written, waiting to be published, and then I read some of the questions and just couldn't help myself. I figured I might as well throw you all a small bone. Then it turned into a whole rewrite and the chapter somehow ended up growing 8000+ words. I have to say I'm pleased with this, even if it means there will be three wolf chapters rather than the two I had, but I'm hoping you won't be upset by it. And for those of you worrying that you won't get your Isaac fix, don't worry, he's coming back soon. Keep in mind she's only with the wolves until sunset.**

* * *

"Come on, girl, no one sleeps _that_ deeply on the floor." I woke to the startling sound of Sabin kicking the bars of my cell. Blinking through the harsh fluorescent lights, I pushed up from the musty mattress and rubbed sleep from my eyes. The smell of the thing followed me so I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for an animal.

And that's when the sluggishness of post sleep left and I remembered exactly where I was, and what the _thing_ starring at me was.

"Oh, good, thanks for joining us." The werewolf grumbled. He was spinning the key to the cell around on his forefinger, looking impatient.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked. Fear only lasted so long with me before it turned into anger and I'd spent all that night terrified. The fact that I knew he'd lose his woman if they hurt me didn't hurt my confidence either. Yes, being here scared the living hell out of me, but I didn't want to sit around wringing my hands all day. I was tired of being pushed around and, if the hunters had taught me anything, it was that wolves respected strength.

Sabin rolled his eyes. "Fantastic. You're even pleasant in the morning."

I didn't reply, simply glared at him.

"Right," he nodded, "so I'm here to take you up for a bathroom break and some grub. Are you hungry?"

"Is it poisoned?"

"Not unless Rendall's cooking. He tends to burn things. But you're right, let me just tell them to add a dash of cyanide to yours, that'll make the swap with your leech_ really_ smooth."

"Fine," I said and climbed onto my feet ignoring his sarcasm.

Sabin, with a shake of his head and that damn smile, unlocked the cell and let the door swing open. I stared at him a moment, glancing at the stairs and moved forward slowly. As I got to the cell door, however I lurched forward, heading for the staircase and my hopeful freedom. Sabin caught my arm, swinging me back around to give me an 'are you serious' look.

"Okay, _that_ was just pathetic." He laughed.

"Worth a try," I said as he began to lead me toward them anyway.

"Not really."

The house was quiet when we got to the kitchen. Littered with dishes, but otherwise empty. I preferred that to the entire pack watching me again. This one wolf was hard enough for me to handle without breaking down into sobs again. Sabin led me toward another staircase and up into the second story of the house and a hallway lined with doors. We headed for the far door, which turned out to be a bedroom, then into the bathroom within it. When I turned around to close the bathroom door, however, he grabbed it, shaking his head.

"Sorry, babe, but I'm on guard duty. Can't let you out of my sight."

I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Don't be an asshole."

He grinned devilishly, quirking a brow. "Feel free to shower if you need it."

"Drop dead." I spat.

"Yeah, I guess that's how you like your men, isn't it? Pale, cold and without a pulse." He titled his head, "Tell me, does that constitute as necrophilia?"

I didn't bother replying, just turned on my heel and moved to the toilet with a huff. Sabin took up a spot in the doorway, leaning back against the frame and crossing his big arms over his chest. I did the same, glaring at him for a long moment until he quirked a mocking brow.

"Yes?" he asked, tone full of laughter. He seemed to be getting a real kick out of messing with me.

"Can't you at least turn around?"

"Sure." He said, but didn't move. I waited until irritation got the best of me.

"Well?_ Do_ it."

"Nope." He grinned.

I ran my hands through my tangled hair, wanting to rip it out. Bits of dirt tumbled down onto my shirt and I pulled a leaf from the mess. I needed a shower, but there was no way I'd be doing that with this asshole watching me. And damnit, I really needed to pee!

"Please," I sighed, holding my head in my hands. "I'm not going to run again, all right? Just let me go to the bathroom, I won't even close the door."

Sabin considered it a long moment then shrugged and stood strait. "Close the door if you want, I'll wait in here." Then he went serious, "But if you do something stupid like shimmy out that window and run? I'll catch you, and it won't be as fun as the last time."

"Whatever." I waved him off and slammed the door in his face, kicking it after. I could hear him laughing outside when I locked the door and hurried to the shower. The sound of the water would cover my using the bathroom. I didn't want him hearing me any more than I wanted him watching.

My shower was fantastic. The hot water helped to clear my head and sooth the muscles that had been tensed since I arrived. Like most guys, he didn't seem to use conditioner, so I made do with a scentless shampoo and did my best to wash up quickly. I must have lost track of time however, because suddenly there was a banging on the door.

"If you want to eat, you'd better do it before the food's cold." Sabin called as I turned off the shower.

"Then bring me some clothes." I retorted, reaching for a towel just as the latch on the doorknob snapped and the thing flew open.

The werewolf paused to stare at me a long moment before he laughed and took my wrist, pulling me back into the bedroom. He shoved me back so that I sprawled onto the bed, struggling to keep myself covered with his too-short towel, and he moved to his bedroom door.

"Tasha!" he called down the hall from his doorway. I heard a grumble and clattering from one of the other rooms and the girl from last night stomped into the hall, a pair of black Skull Candy headphones around her neck.

"What?" she asked, the air of disgruntled teenager all around her. She couldn't have been more than 16, with long, strait black hair and dark brown eyes that reminded me of Josep's, sans the gold flecks. Sabin grinned amiably and jerked his thumb back toward me.

"I need to borrow some clothes for the prisoner." He said. Tasha however scowled, shaking her head.

"No way, she'll get that leech's stink all over them. I'll never be able to wear them again."

"She bathed, you brat. Smells all human now." Then he paused to grin, "You know, I think she'll make them smell better."

"Just cuz she smells like my wettest dream doesn't mean I want it all over me. Why don't you ask one of the other bitches?"

He scowled, looking as if he wanted to take steel wool to his ears, "Ok, _eww. _I never want to hear that again and you'll do it because you're my sister and I can demand things like this. Besides, _you're_ little, and so is she."

She gave him a glare that surpassed my own. Sabin's brows rose slowly and he leaned out the door. "Don't make me come get them." It was only a playful threat, but something about his body language said he'd do it.

With an angry grumble, she spun and slammed her door behind her. After a moment or two, it opened again and the clothes came flying toward his head. Sabin caught them with a laugh and thanked her mockingly though she'd already slammed the door again.

"Are you always this sweet, or is it just for my benefit?" I asked picking up the jeans and shirt he'd tossed onto the bed.

The werewolf shrugged and moved to flop down beside me, tucking his hands back behind his head.

"She's still pissed that I chased off her meat-boy on their last date. Squirrely little bastard wouldn't know what to do with a girl if she sat on his face anyway."

I arched a brow at that and stood up, gripping my towel tightly. "What-boy?"

Sabin grinned again, watching me as I moved back to the bathroom to grab my underwear. "Human. It's what we call them. Sort of like slang."

_Meat_…well, that just made me feel all safe and sound.

I closed the door halfway and hurriedly pulled on the clothes. The shirt was tight, but I suspected that was due to the fact that Tasha had no breasts to speak of and I was moderately endowed. It would have to do though, and I liked the smiling image of Little Alex tipping his bowler on the front. She had good taste in movies at least. _A Clockwork Orange_ was one of my favorites. Then again, what did that really say about us?

I closed the door in the bathroom to hurriedly pull on my bra and panties. Thankfully they were not covered in dirt as the rest of my clothes had been. When I left the bathroom, hopping on one leg to pull on my shoe, Sabin's eyes locked on the shirt or more importantly my _chest_. Crossing my arms over them, I decided to stop bouncing around like an idiot and cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Hmm?" he asked, taking his time to look back at my face.

"You said something about food?" I stated briskly.

He nodded toward his dresser to a plate stacked high with breakfast. There were eggs, toast, and sausage, but way too much for me to finish by myself. He must have seen the look on my face as I grabbed the plate, because he gave a shy little laugh and nodded toward it.

"You slept through breakfast, so I had to reheat it all, but it's still pretty good. We're all used to big appetites around here, so I might have gone a little overboard."

"How big exactly?" I poked at the sausage with wide eyes.

He shrugged, "Fast metabolisms. Keeps most of us fit with the unfortunate side effect of making it nearly impossible to get drunk without a full bottle of jack."

"Thanks anyway." I said then looked around the room for a place to sit that wasn't near him. Unfortunately it was sparsely furnished and I was forced to sit at the bottom edge of the mattress to eat. Sabin sat up, rolling his eyes and hooked a finger in the belt loop on the back of my jeans, dragging me across the mattress to sit next to him and stealing a sausage off my plate.

"No need to be rude." He smiled then settled back against the headboard to watch me eat with an interest I didn't understand and found uncomfortable. He must have gotten bored because the silence didn't last long.

"If I can ask, what's with all the animosity? What have I done to you?"

"Other than taking me hostage, pushing me around, and locking me in a cage all night?"

"Well…" he scratched his head, "Besides that, yeah."

"I don't like werewolves." I said, starring down at my food. I was quickly losing my appetite.

"I'd guessed that. Any _particular_ reason why?"

I didn't answer, instead focusing on eating my eggs though I didn't have a fork. Sabin sighed, leaning forward to catch my eyes.

"Come on, girlie. Tell me what us terrible wolves did that was _so_ bad. Or do you hate us on principle for your leech's benefit?"

I met his eyes levelly and put the plate on the bed beside me. "A werewolf killed my family." That shut him up, so I continued. "We were camping up in the mountains and it smelled our food cooking. My dad tried to distract it but it ripped him in half and went after my mother. When my sister and I ran it caught up with us and dragged her off. I got lucky." I knew this was what had happened, even if I couldn't actually see it in my mind anymore. I wasn't sure yet whether this was a blessing or not.

Sabin's smile had melted away completely now and he had become very still. His eyes, already the deep gold color, lightened just enough to tell me he was affected by this information, even a little angry. He opened his mouth, then closed it again to think. After a long moment of deafening silence, he finally spoke.

"Was it here in Texas?" he asked, this seemed to be important to him. I shook my head and he nodded, relieved just a bit. "How did you get away?"

"I wouldn't have," I said softly, "if it weren't for the hunters. They killed the thing and took me in. They explained what had happened and what was out there."

"When you say _hunters_…"

I smiled faintly, "Not of the deer variety."

Sabin shook his head and sat forward again, looking confused. "But you live with a vampire. How could you be with hunters as well?"

"They're dead, and I had nowhere left to go."

The wolf paused a long moment to look at me, his lips curling down into a frown. "Did _he_ kill them? The one you're traveling with?"

I looked back at my plate, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling slowly. It was answer enough apparently and the wolf laughed incredulously.

"Why the hell would you stay with him?"

"It wasn't my choice." I said, not wanting to discuss it further.

Sabin shook his head then looked down at his hands, picking at a loose thread on his worn jeans.

"We aren't all like that, you know. I mean there are always exceptions and sometimes there are accidents, but killing humans without cause is strictly forbidden. _Eating_ them here in the states…it's punishable by death." He touched my shoulder briefly, "Whoever that wolf was, if your hunters hadn't killed him, his _pack_ would have."

The room lapsed into silence again, stretching on while I ate and Sabin sat back against the headboard, lost in thought. After a while, not liking the quiet, I turned to him. This new knowledge was comforting had he not prefaced it with _in the states_. That meant that outside of America it was sanctioned. Desperately wanting to think about something else, I changed the subject.

"So what's the deal with this girl? I mean she ran away from you, so she can't be too happy to come back."

"That's not up to her."

"Because she's _your woman_" I said with air-quotes. Sabin nodded. "And the other one? What is she?"

"Cassidy?" he asked with a laugh. "She's incentive for a pack member to grow a pair. He wants to challenge me, and has yet to follow through. Hopefully this will finally push him to it."

I took a bite of my sausage, chewing quickly. "Challenge you for what?"

He wadded up a napkin and tossed it at me, then leaned back on his pillows. "My place as Second. He wants to be Alpha when Malachi finally steps down."

"And that's how you guys do it? By fighting?"

He shrugged, "There's a bit more to it, but yes. No pack will follow a weak leader. We can't."

"Mhmm." I nodded, frowning down at my eggs. "I guess that makes sense."

I wiped my hands on the napkin and moved to stand, but Sabin was already up. He took my plate, downed the last bit of meat and let it clatter onto the dresser. When he turned back I crossed my arms awkwardly and looked around.

"So…what now?"

He smirked, stretching up with a yawn. His tight, blue tee-shirt lifted up away from his low-slung jeans, flashing a bit of taught skin. The guy had fantastic arms, and apparently his abs weren't bad on the eyes either. Unfortunately he caught my unintentional gawking and smirked.

"Well, I could take you back downstairs to the cage."

"Or?"

"I _could_ take you outside for a walk, but you'd probably run off again."

"I think it's out of my system now, thank you. Besides, full stomach equals little running for me." I shrugged. "So, what do you do to entertain yourself around here?"

The wolf tried to hide a smirk, leaning back against his dresser. "We live by a simple credo. The Three F's of pack life."

"Which are?"

"Food, Fighting and Fu-"

"I get it." I said, running a hand through my hair and rolling my eyes. Really, what was it with supernatural men and sex, or was this just an animal thing?

"Well we've gotten the first two out of the way."

My hand stilled halfway through my hair and I looked up at him. "Are you coming on to me?"

He titled his head, looking me over. "I'm bored. And you're not unattractive. Too thin, but I can live with that." His eyes flashed pale gold, the pupils shrinking, "And then there's your scent."

When he stalked forward I tried to retreat, tripping back over the bed and landing on my ass. He reached out to hold me in place after that, leaning down to take a deep breath over my throat nd pressing my into the mattress.

"I've never smelled anything like it," He murmured with a frown, remaining uncomfortably close to me. "Neither has my father."

"I'm sorry." I replied, stiff and feeling the beginning of trembles from his proximity. Yes, I was getting comfortable that he wouldn't kill me, but my fear of wolves hadn't vanished just because one wolf was civil with me. The hunters had once explained that a wolves' temper is short. The smallest thing, such as the challenge of eyes could set them off and in that case the only thing to do was submit one's self and hope that they hadn't shifted too far, or run like hell, but that generally resulted in mauling.

"No." Sabin was saying. He slipped his fingers into my hair to pull me closer. "It's wonderful. You smell like earth and…" he took another deep breathe, closing his eyes in pleasure, "Earth and sunlight. God, the leeches must be able to smell it too. Is that why your vampire kept you? Does he tell you that you taste like his forsaken sun?"

It was growing harder to breathe with Sabin so close and finally I shoved him back. I caught his eyes as they flashed pale gold, but he killed the instinctual growl rumbling in his chest before it became too menacing. He was angry, but he either shook it off, or buried it deep because that smile returned to his lips. Not sure how to respond to him, I said the first thing that popped up.

"I thought wolves mated for life."

"Mate yes, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves. Pack life is a lot more open about such things than the human world. You should be used to that though, living with a vampire."

"I don't sleep with him, and I've never wanted to." _Liar Liar Liar._

Sabin shrugged "I'm good with that."

"I'm not sleeping with you either." I said firmly.

The wolf stood strait, unfazed, "Too bad, guess we go outside then."

And that was the end of it which left me feeling a bit shocked at how easy it had been. I couldn't even feel angry toward him, because he wasn't pushing it at all. These people were so _weird_!

Sabin opened his door, sweeping his arm out dramatically for me to follow. I hopped off the bed and hurried out of his room and into the hall. At the stairwell, he took hold of my arm, leaning down to speak softly.

"Gotta keep up appearances."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue. It really wasn't worth it anyway. We made our way down the stairs and into the living room where a couple of wolves were lounging on the couches. Cassidy looked up from a magazine, her long legs thrown over the arm of her chair and frowned at me.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, sitting up strait. The wolf watching TV glanced over with matching concern.

"We all know how bad that cage blows. I'm just walking the human." He grinned, patting the top of my head like a dog, "Don't worry about it."

Cassidy looked as if she were going to protest some more, but Sabin swept down, taking a firm hold of her blond hair and kissed her. The girl went still, then relaxed, making a soft noise of protest when he pulled back.

"Don't worry about it." He repeated and this time she nodded.

As we moved toward the door and Cassidy left the room I leaned in close to Sabin.

"So does she know she's being used?"

"I'd thank you not to say that out loud." He muttered back, squeezing my arm.

"That's a _no_ then?" He sighed and I shook my head. "So how are you supposed to incur this guy's wrath if you're being so sneaky about the whole thing?"

"We've got a keen sense of smell, better even than your vampires," he grinned, "I'm sure Vilkas can smell me all over her."

"_Oh_." I frowned, getting an unwanted mental image of just how that might happen, "Alrighty then."

"Sabin." The voice echoed down the hallway as we reached the back door. The wolf tensed, moving me just behind him and stepping forward to look down at his father standing in the door of his office. The older wolf was scowling, though that might have just been the way his face always looked when he wasn't playing charming regent.

"Sir?" Sabin replied.

Malachi eyed me a moment before turning his attention back on his son. "I trust you're not doing anything stupid."

"It's good to know you have faith in me, father." He replied in an equally veiled sarcastic tone.

The Alpha stared at him a long time before letting out a slow breath and waving us away. There was a tension I couldn't interpret between them, and probably didn't want to. "I need Rendall." He said.

Sabin nodded stiffly. "On it," he replied and whisked me out the door.

I think I surprised him once we'd walked into the sun and I sucked in a breath. It was involuntary, but my body just went still and I closed my eyes lifting my face toward the warmth the ball of fire afforded us.

"How long has it been?" He asked after I'd opened my eyes again. I flushed in an embarrassment I didn't understand and looked down at the thick grass. Their lawn was well manicured for a bunch of dogs.

"I don't remember. The hunters were all night owls and then Isaac...I don't even know when I adjusted to his schedule. I haven't enjoyed the sunlight for a long time."

He watched me with what looked like pity, so I nodded out toward the lawn to distract him. "Now what are we out here for?"

It was cool out today as we moved quickly across the huge lawn and toward the guest house near the trees. Sabin ignored the wolves outside who stared at us. (Thankfully not even close to the numbers last night) When we got to the door, he released my arm to pound on the door once and burst in. He seemed fond of making entrances.

There were three males inside, two at a pool table and one sitting on top of a bar, drinking whiskey strait from the bottle. When they saw Sabin they began a chorus of "what up's" then realized I was with him and lost their smiles. He wasn't bothered by this of course and pointed me toward the couch at the center of the room. I was guessing this was the guy hangout here, seeing as it was covered in liquor posters and naked women.

"Rendall, boss-man wants to see you." He said, speaking to the mammoth man from last night. The huge wolf nodded, handing over his pool stick and heading for the door without a word. Guess he just didn't say much. Once he was gone Sabin turned to the guy at the bar with an overly enthusiastic smile.

"How are things Vilks?" he asked and the guy bared his teeth, eyes turning pale.

"Fucking great. Why wouldn't they be?" He raked Sabin with a scathing look but the wolf only grinned wider.

"Just checking." He said, nodding for me to get up.

I moved out the door in time to hear the whiskey bottle crash against the wall just as Sabin was leaving. He laughed, turning to wave at the angry dog inside and slammed the door.

"Guess that means he smelled you." I said.

"Looks like." He said, stretching up his arms with a huge grin. "Uggh, Now I'm all…"

He turned to me and had leapt forward before I'd known to scream. We hit the ground, rolling, so he took most of the impact, but landed with me on my back in the thick grass and him pinning me down.

"Feisty." He finished with a wicked smile.

"You have another man's woman for that." I said with a scowl and tried to push my arms up, but he was too strong and they remained pinned to the ground. "Get off me."

"Wanna wrestle?" he asked, tilting his head.

I scoffed, looking at him like he was crazy. "Let me think…_no_."

"Don't be a wuss." He teased, "Besides. If you aren't gunna play with me, I'll just have to amuse myself." He leaned down to nuzzle my head to the side with a soft growl, "And I've already got you on your back."

"Isn't there some kind of, 'don't fool around with the hostages' rule or something?"

He laughed, "Wouldn't know. Never had a hostage I wanted to tumble with before…well, there was Accalia but that was-"

"She was a hostage?" I asked. What was it about this girl that he wanted so badly?

"At one point she was a rabid dog, with good reason. Keeping her controlled was…difficult. She spent the majority of her first year with us in the cage because it was that or let her maul everyone who got close to her. She left me a few impressive scars at least."

"And you watched her?" I swallowed focusing on the conversation rather than the fact that he was settled on top of me.

"At times." He nodded, reaching up to brush the hair from my face, letting his fingers linger too long on my skin. "At the time I hated the job, but after a while, I realized that she was fascinating." His grin was wicked and promising as he tilted his head to regard me with interest. "Very much like you."

"Get off of me, Sabin." I said flatly, though the strength didn't fully reach my voice. The wolf laughed, shaking his head, his eyes falling to my mouth and turning a lighter gold as he breathed in my scent again. Something about it seemed to drive him a little crazy.

I froze, trying to sink into the ground as the wolf leaned down ever so slowly, intending to kiss me. The moment was thankfully interrupted by a squeal and we both turned to look at the small group of children playing in the yard. One of the boys was chasing a girl. She giggled and screamed in the happy way children do before the boy lept forward, much like Sabin had done to me. He pinned her to the ground laughing, before another girl, who seemed to be her twin attacked from the side. The group of them wrestled about steadily getting closer. Normally this would have seemed far too aggressive for children, but by the happy laughter and the wistful smile that had grown on Sabin's face, I knew it was just a game. An animal thing.

The boy managed to break free of his attackers and ran toward us, seeing Sabin. The wolf above me climbed to his knees, though I was still trapped on the ground and caught him before he could trample me.

"Sabin! The boy cried, "Jade's using teeth!"

With a chuckle Sabin, _thankfully_, climbed off of me to set the boy down in front of us. "Well you aren't bleeding."

"But she bit me!" the boy protested as the girls joined us. The one in question growled a soft puppy growl, but the strangely adorable affect was ruined by the row of tiny sharpened teeth that filled her mouth. I sat up quickly, drawing away from them, but it only caught their attention. The boy, titling his head took a slow sniff in my direction, glancing at Sabin before addressing me directly.

"You smell pretty." He said with a shy little smile, letting his shaggy brown air fall into his big golden eyes.

"Thank you." I replied, not knowing what else to do and feeling a bit awkward.

The twins pushed in closer. Jade took a tentative sniff of me while her twin, nervously twisted at her braid.

"You can't talk to her Patrick," she half whispered to the boy, "Momma said she's with the dead things."

The boy, who didn't seem to care much beyond his interest in me, only scowled. "Don't be stupid." Then he looked to me, eyes widen slightly. "Are you really dead lady? You don't_ look_ dead."

"No," I cleared my throat, glancing at Sabin who was fighting a laugh. "I'm alive."

"See!" Patrick shoved the girl, "I_ told_ you. She's too pretty to be a dead thing."

"He's got a point." Sabin smirked while the nervous twin frowned at me and hurried to his side. She tucked herself against him and watched me as if I were a rattlesnake poised to strike.

"Momma told me." She insisted, looking to Sabin for confirmation. "Why'd you let her out of the cage?"

At this, Jade chimed in, "Don't be a puppy Erika. Sabin won't let her hurt you. He's the bestest most strongest wolf there is! Even Momma said so."

I smirked at this, arching a brow at him and the adorable blush that now colored his cheeks. It seemed he did have a shred of humility. Who knew?

"What's your name, lady?" Patrick drew my attention by tugging at my pants leg. I gave him a smile, finding it hard not to like such a cute, forward child. "Mira."

He grinned at that bashfully and watched me through his hair again. "My momma said that only fairies smell like you. Are you a fairy miss Mira?"

I laughed away the unpleasant thought and shook my head, "No. Most of the Fae I've met smell like flowers or rain."

Suddenly Erika pushed herself from Sabin's arm to join the others in front of me. Her eyes, like theirs, were wide with fascination. "You've seen a fairy?"

Her sister shook her head, "Momma says fairies aren't alive no more. The Green Man trapped them in the dark wood cuz they hurted too many people. Everybody knows that stupid."

I paused a moment, recognizing the name as one of Cern's many epithets. Did wolves know about him? Did they recognize him as their god? It made sense, being a culture that valued the earth and he being its protector. Eventually, I would have to ask him about that.

"Oh, they're alive," I said gravely. Then, so as not to frighten them, I smiled. "I went to their forest once when I was in England. They were having a celebration for their king." No need to mention that their superstitious beliefs were all fact. That was just too much for children. When I looked around at them, even Sabin was listening intently now, his expression unreadable.

"There were all different kinds, and all different colors, like flowers. Some were dancing, and when the light of the fire hit their skin, it shimmered like they were made of diamonds. When they sang, it was so beautiful that the humans around them were put under a spell and danced too."

"Did you dance?" Erika asked softly, as if speaking loud would ruin the moment and stop my story.

I shook my head, "I had special protection, otherwise I would have danced forever."

Jade smiled, "What else did you see?"

"Well, there were some Fae that didn't look human at all. Some had horns and hooves like a goats, and some had great wings like giant birds."

Patrick looked dazzled and scooted closer to me. "Did you see them fly?" he asked with barely contained excitement.

I nodded, "They were colored like birds from the tropics. Bright blues and reds and purples. When they spread their wings, they were bigger than me."

"bigger than Rendall?"

"Even bigger than him," I grinned at their gasps, "so big that when they took to the sky, their wings blotted out the stars."

The children ooh'd and aww'd a moment and Sabin continued to watch me closely, his eyes becoming more intense by the second.

Erika, having decided I wasn't evil or dead, tugged at my pant leg with a huge smile. "Did you meet the fairy king?" she asked and I felt my own smile fall a bit at the memory of that night.

"I did."

Oblivious, her sister pushed on, "what did he look like?"

I took a slow breath, and glanced at Sabin. He'd caught my reluctance but wasn't going to hush the children. He was too curious himself.

"Well," I began "he wasn't really a fairy. He's a god. Stronger than any Fae."

"Stronger than Sabin?" Patrick asked in awe.

"He's the strongest man in the whole world." I replied.

Jade pushed herself closer to me, cuddling up against my side. She was startlingly warm the way Sabin was, which I assumed was another wolf thing.

"Is he handsome like Sabin?"

I chuckled at the wolf's second blush of the day, reaching up to brush the dark hair from her face.

"Oh yes. He's incredibly handsome And his eyes are the color of grass in early spring. Like this." I indicated a patch of bright green on her dress and they all ooh'd again.

Patrick however seemed skeptical, probably lost at the handsome comment. Looking at the others, he gave a small frown. "Did you _really_ meet the king?"

I smiled and held out my hand so they could all see the ring there. "I did," I told them, "and he gave me this."

Patrick reached out with his chubby boyish fingers and touched the sun at its center. When he did, the metal at the heart of the sun seemed to come alive. It rippled like golden mercury before settling back into place. Te children shrieked in excitement at this and Sabin's expression became something like wonder. I had to admit to a little shock myself. I'd never seen it do that before, and had to wonder if it was because they were wolves. Again, I would have to talk with Cern about this all as soon as I could.

Erika was reaching out to touch it too when the thin woman across the lawn began to gather the other children still playing there.

"Lunchtime!" she called and Sabin shooed the children away, putting his grin back in place for their benefit.

"Off you go, rugrats, before it's all eaten." Seeming distressed, the twins jumped to their feet and dashed off to join the others while Patrick remained behind. Smiling bashfully, he leaned down and picked a small white flower, handing it over.

"I gots to go now miss Mira, but I like your stories. I never knowed someone who met a fairy before. You're not evil like auntie Marcie says."

"Thank you." I said, deciding I didn't need to meet this woman and happy to have changed her nephew's mind. "You're very sweet yourself." He blushed, eyes lightening to a buttery gold, before scampering off to the others and leaving me alone with Sabin once again. He was still watching me, but now he looked as if he'd just discovered a fascinating new species.

"You know, Mira, I'm beginning to think you're much more interesting than just your scent."

I laughed at that and shook my head. "Not really. I just seem to find myself in the wrong places more than most. I have terrible luck."

"I take it seeing the fairies wasn't as glamorous as you made it out to be?"

"I haven't been that scared in a long time." I paused a moment, and arched a brow at him. "Wait, are you saying you believe me?"

"I thought it was just talk for the little ones until your ring did that neat little water trick. Now I'm not so sure."

I chuckled, starring down at the braided metal, poking it with a finger. It didn't ripple and I frowned. "Yeah, that part is new."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, glancing between me and it.

"I'm not really sure." I was about to expand on that thought, when something occurred to me.

Until now, I'd been terrified of werewolves as a whole, not that I suddenly thought them all to be cute and cuddly. I was just willing to admit that there were exceptions, like Sabin and the children. The point however, was that last night I had been all but a weeping pile of mush in their paws. So pathetic and terrified in fact, that I hadn't even thought to call on the one person who could have saved me. I'd had an out the entire time, but in my panic failed to use it.

Now I just felt stupid.

"Why are you with that vampire?" Sabin suddenly asked, jerking me from my thoughts. "Obviously you're not safe with him, not if he takes you to monster bashes. Especially not when he's killed the people who saved your life."

"It's…" I searched for a way to explain, failed, and finally settled on, "complicated. I seem to attract things that want to hurt me or steal me away. Like some sort of danger magnet. Honestly I'm safer with him than anywhere else." Not to mention the fact that Cern had all but ordered him to keep me safe or else. Though Isaac never mentioned their meeting, I'd always had a feeling the god had made a personal visit to him. How else would he have known the situation and its conditions?

"You could stay here." He said, surprising me, then to sooth my shock he grinned, "I could show you a better time than that vampire at the very least." He winked.

Rolling my eyes, I laughed. "I've never slept with him."

"Sure." He said laying back in the grass and propping his head in his hands. "And that scar on your neck is from an angry puppy right?"

"He tried, believe me."

Sabin's humor vanished and his eyes cut to me, narrowing slightly. "By _tried_ you mean…"

I shook my head at the implication, surprised that he seemed protective over me and hurried to explain. "He never attacked me…well, he never hurt…Ok, not to the extent you're thinking. He can be an asshole, but he isn't a rapist."

He watched me a long time, searching my expression before accepting my response. The tension that had so suddenly filled him slipped away, "But he has made advances."

"And I ran away."

"Literally?" he asked, seeming far too amused by the idea.

"_Technically_, I dissolved, but yes."

"Oh?" he replied looking at me as if I might claim the world was a giant ball of cheese next. "Do you find yourself dissolving often?"

I sighed, "No, but it's been known to happen. The…uh, Fae king can do some crazy things."

I don't know what it was about him, but I trusted Sabin. It was strange, and everything in me would have hated the very thought of him, but for some reason talking to him, even if he was a werewolf, seemed safe. He was easy to open up to, and had won me over in a few hours. While normally I would have been irritated by this fact, and while part of me thought he was easy to talk to because he wanted to be, I still liked him. Besides, being around him, meant I didn't have to worry about the others wolves, the ones I knew would be as nice to me.

"So being that you can dissolve," he said this making it obvious he doubted it and I shoved him playfully, "Why don't you do so now?"

"What the ring isn't enough proof that I'm special?" I laughed. He grinned sitting up.

"That part I knew. And I'm not asking you to prove yourself." He titled his head, searching my eyes intently, "I'm just curious, if you can escape at any time, then why haven't you?"

I sighed, knowing what he was looking for and feeling just a little embarrassed at having to admit it to him. He liked to give me a hard time, however, and even if it was irritating, somehow it managed to also be endearing. The bastard.

"I don't feel threatened right now, I suppose. Why? Are you implying that I should be?"

Sabin chuckled and when he suddenly surged forward, pinning me back on the ground, his permanently golden eyes seemed to glow.

"Well, since we're being so honest here," he flattened a palm on the grass beside my head, trapping me between it and him, "You smell-"

"Like heaven?" I finished, swallowing nervously. Perhaps I had dropped a little too much of my guard with him. Had he been waiting for that?

He nodded in affirmation, "It's more than that. To put it bluntly, I'm an animal and _you_ are all I can think about when you're close enough to smell." He titled his head and when he spoke, his teeth had sharpened, "I don't know if I want to fuck you senseless, or eat you up, but the thought of handing you back to that leech makes the animal in me furious. Every instinct I have is telling me to keep you away from him. To_ keep _you." He shook his head, "I haven't felt the visceral _need_ to possess something so strongly since I found my mate, Accalia. Even more concerning is that given the choice between you, I honestly don't know if I'd choose her."

My eyes went wide and I pressed back into the grass. "I've reconsidered dissolving."

The wolf chuckled and ruffled my hair, "Don't worry, little red, I can control myself." Then he smiled in his devilish and endearing way, "but perhaps you could settle the beast by giving in to one of them? _Well_," he chuckled, "I'd rather you slept with me."

I arched a brow, "No Sabin."

"I'm just sayin'," he grinned, "It could be for your own safety."

I scoffed, but couldn't help my smile at his ridiculousness. I knew he wasn't really threatening me. "As far as pick-up lines go _fuck me or I'll eat you_ really isn't the smoothest."

He shrugged, "Ok when you put it like _that-_"

"You can't help yourself can you?" The angry voice grabbed both our attention. Out of my peripheral vision I saw that even the wolves lounging about in the sun had turn to look at the speaker, as if they could all feel his rage. Or smell it.

Vilkas, the wolf whom Sabin was currently cuckolding glared down at the pair of us in the grass. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides and the veins in his arms and neck stood out against his skin as if they might burst from it. His eyes were bright yellow in his fury, gleaming as he watched us in disgust. At this, I felt Sabin tense above me, though outwardly he smiled. I knew he was ready t attack, but given the circumstances, said nothing.

"I thought it was the females that went into heat, but here you are. You spot a bit of tail and can't wait to pounce. No wonder your bitch keeps running off."

"I might be reading between the lines," Sabin spoke to me through his forced smile, "but I think he might be displeased with me in some way."

"Sabin." I caught his flashing eyes, recognizing the anger there when Vilkas had mentioned his mate. I tried to convey that this was a stupid idea, that this man was obviously about to try to kill him, but he didn't seem to care. The thin babysitter had returned with the children, some still carrying plates, but at the commotion she gathered them up and ushered them back inside. She didn't seem _scared_ though, no one did. To them, it seemed normal, and they only watched with tense curiosity. There was a palpable excitement in the air, like in the lunchroom of a high school when a fight had broken out. They were _eager_.

Sabin slowly pushed himself up, helping me to my feet as well and brushing the dirt from my pants casually. Vilkas however, was growing more unstable by the second, his pupils, now incased in bright angry yellow, had shrunken to pinpricks. The effect was chilling.

"I'm sensing hostility, Vilks. Wanna share with me why?" Sabin asked calmly, finally turning to face the werewolf.

"You fucked my woman, you son of a bitch."

"Correction, Cassidy fucked _me. _Like a wild stallion, that one, and watch the way you talk about my mother. _Especially_ when she is your Alpha's mate."

Vilkas growled, barring teeth that were longer and sharper than they should have been. "Cassidy is _my_ mate. My woman. I have every right to defend my-"

"You're right." Sabin interrupted with a tight grin. "And while you're busy fighting for your humiliation, we might as well settle your grievances over my place in the Pack."

A flash of shock passed over the furious wolf's face before he replied "That's what this is about? You _fucked my mate_ to get under my skin?"

Sabin stepped forward, gently urging me to the side and out of the way of harm, and chuckled, shrugging.

"Well, that and Cassidy's flexibility. I mean really, _you_ are…_were_ a lucky guy. She can get her legs _allll_ the way-" but he wasn't given a chance to finish, because with a roar, Vilkas charged.

He moved so quickly I was stunned into stillness only feet away from them, a hand going to cover my mouth. The wolf caught Sabin at his midsection, lifting him up off the ground and then into the ground hard enough to send dirt up in a cloud of dusk. My heart raced in fear of what would happen to Sabin, but he didn't waist much time. With a savage growl of his own, he shoved Vilkas off and rolled onto his feet in a crouch. His fingers were curled, out at his sides, and their tips had lengthened and reshaped themselves. Now he had claws and when Vilkas next charged, so did he.

The wolf swiped at him ripping gashes in his blue tee-shirt and opening his chest. At the sight of the blood I thought I might be sick. What the hell had Sabin been thinking, starting a fight? What if Vilkas killed him? He wolves around us didn't seem startled as much as excited by this brawl. Would they stop it if it went too far?

"Get the human out of there." I heard the gruff, deep voice of Malachi behind me but didn't turn to look at him. I was too busy watching Vilkas shift. They were both beginning to turn in stages, between blows. Sabin's arms had bulged as if the muscle were growing under his skin. Vilkas snarled, snapping at him, and as he did the shape of his face began to change, his jaw lengthening into a muzzle and his teeth shifting to fit within it. Sabin's ears had lengthened as well, pointing at their tips and when he crouched again to attack, light golden hair began to thicken down his arms and neck.

Hands closed around my shoulder suddenly, dragging me back toward the house, and in my panic I fought. "He's going to kill him!" I shouted, but no one paid me any attention.

Another wolf join the one dragging me and slowly the fight began to recede as I was taken back to the house. Malachi met my eyes only briefly as I passed the door, and I tried to beg him to put an end to it.

"Stop them!" I pleaded, "He'll kill Sabin."

The Alpha had the nerve to laugh softly, before turning his eyes on the wolves behind me and nodded toward the house.

"Take her back to the cage. I think she's seen enough of our hospitality for now."

There was a muttered yes sir and then I was being hauled through the livingroom, the sounds of the fight still tormenting me before the basement door was closed behind the blond wolf that followed us. His eyes jumped nervously between me and the savage sounds of the fight and me until we'd descended the stairs and the sounds had faded.

All I could think about, however, was that the only wolf I'd met who'd shown me compassion was outside being torn apart and I was helpless to stop it. Was I cursed to be the death of all the people I cared for?

* * *

**Now, I'm dying to know, given that you've gotten to see more of his character, what do all of you think of Sabin? Writing these chapters reminded me how much fun his world is to explore. It's making me miss his story and I'm considering starting it up again. Don't worry though, this one takes precedence. **


	30. Smells Like Heaven

**WARNING! This chapter gets a little **_**uncomfortable**_**. **

* * *

The wolf who gripped my shoulders wasn't gentle. When we'd reached the cage he tossed me against it and turned to his nervous friend.

"Willem go get the key."

"But I thought you-" The nervous wolf glanced between me and his obvious superior, flinching when he growled.

"Sabin has the other, jackass, so get the spare from Malachi's office." He turned to me, titling his head and I recognized him from my first night here as the one who'd tried to sniff me and been warned off by Sabin, though this was the first time I'd heard his southern drawl, "I'll keep the meat-girl busy a while."

Call me crazy, but I didn't like the sound of that.

"How can you all just sit back and watch while that crazy wolf up there attacks Sabin?" I demanded, "What if he really hurts him?"

The wolf shrugged, moving to sit on one of the exercise machine's benches. "Then Sabin don't deserve his position and must forfeit his title as Second."

I shook my head, "Aren't any of you worried about him?"

He laughed, bracing his elbows against his thighs and watching me with a glimmer in his dark blue eyes that made me uncomfortable. "You kiddin'?" he scoffed, "That boy was bred for this since the day he could walk. Malachi beat him worse than any of his competitors ever could when he failed. He spent more time in that cage than Cali. Hell, the old dog wouldn't feed 'less he came out on top of everything. Did you think he got his title just by bein' the Alpha's son?"

My throat felt tight from this new information and pity for Sabin, so I nodded. What a horrible way to grow up. How could anyone do that to their child? The wolf chuckled, shaking his head.

"This ain't the royal family, sugar. No one gets what they ain't owed, and Sabin wasn't no different. Though in his case, it was be the best or face his Alpha's rage. Can be quite the motivator."

"Malachi isn't as nice as he likes to pretend." I said, wringing my hands when I heard a howl through the open basement door. "But Sabin will be ok?"

The wolf laughed, shaking his head and looked me over. "I see he made with the charm already. He's good at that too. An Alpha needs more than brute strength as it turns out. He already get you to open them long legs o' yers?"

My jaw dropped a moment and I could only glare at him in shock. "E-excuse me?"

"Got the key, Tate!" Willem had returned and shut the basement door behind him, thankfully blocking out the sounds of the continuing fight. The wolf in question watched me scramble a moment in my discomfort before he held up a hand and whistled for Willem to toss the key ring. He caught it easily and slipped them into the back pocket of his worn jeans.

"Well, pretty lady, since we seem to have a little while, why don't we all get to know each other better?"

I took a step back, then jumped away when I found Willem behind me. He was an anxious little bastard, but quiet too. Tate titled his head, his smile sure and just a touch menacing.

"Come here, sugar." He waved me over, but I didn't budge. There was a sickness growing in my gut. A fear that this was about to turn into something terrible. When he saw that I wasn't moving his smile grew a little, and tightened, his eyes flashing, "Baby, you can either come here, or I can come get'cha. Up to you."

I glanced between them, swallowing as Willem herded me closer to the other wolf. I didn't want them to hurt me, and I knew that with the others all outside watching the fight, there would be no one to call for help. They knew it too. I took a tentative step toward him, then yelped when Willem shoved me forward. Tate caught my arms, shooting a cross look at Willem that I knew was staged, and tsk'ed.

"No need to get rough, she's gunna behave, ain't'cha, sugar?"

I didn't respond, just looked between them, fighting the trembles that were starting in my hands. These animals attacked at the sign of weakness, it was just what predators did. If I wanted them to leave me be, I had to do my best to be as strong as possible despite my fear.

Tate was built much like Sabin, if a bit smaller. He might have even been attractive if it weren't for the personality. He shook his dark bangs from his eyes and titled his head to regard me, patting his leg.

"Why don't you sit?" he suggested, but I scoffed at the idea. The wolf's smile vanished, his dark eyes narrowing and his tone hardened. "_Sit_."

I was jerked down into his lap, my back pressed against his too-warm chest and his arm wrapped around me. It trapped my arms against my sides and ensured that I wouldn't get away no matter how I struggled.

Tate growled low in his chest, the sound almost like a purr, and leaned in to breathe in my scent at the base of my neck. I stiffened, fighting not to struggle and excite or anger him, but he suddenly swatted the hair from my shoulder to get a better smell and I couldn't help the startled whimper. He chuckled against my throat, his hot breath making my skin crawl and nuzzled against me.

Willem had closed his beady brown eyes to take in my scent as well and whined like a dog, high pitched and irritating. "She smells great. How's Sabin keeping himself from takin' a bite? I'd sure love to."

My attention snapped to him at this, my gut dropping to the floor as if I'd just taken the first hill on a roller coaster. Tate sat back, and shoved me over to his lackey who caught me too tightly and took his time sniffing the bared skin of my throat. Behind us, Tate stood and moved slowly to a plywood cabinet, sifting through its contents. I was too busy shaking in Willem's bruising grip to pay him much mind though. This bastard had just admitted to wanting to _eat_ me!

A strangled cry of disgust escaped my throat when I felt Willem's hot tongue against my throat and Tate appeared in my line of sight with a laugh. He pulled me away from the too-eager wolf and back against his chest, while Willem licked his lips, his eyes flashing gold.

"She tastes good."

"Does she?" Tate mused arching a brow. He was moving to try me himself when I swung around and slapped him with all I had.

The wolf's head turned with the blow and I stumbled away from him. Willem was too shocked to grab me, he just stared at the other. My anger melted quickly into fear as Tate's eyes cut to me, bleeding to bright yellow. I started to backpedal wanting as much distance between us as I could manage, but he was too quick. I yelped when he backhanded me, until the sound was cut off by his fingers around my throat. I gagged, tripping over myself and clawing at his hand as the wolf growled low in his throat and shoved me back against the cage bars. My feet left the ground, kicking wildly as he stared me down.

"That was rude." He said slowly, his voice deep and rough from his anger. "And here I thought we were all gettin' along. But if yer gunna be difficult…" He tossed a roll of duct tape to Willem, which he'd taken from the cabinet. The squirrely wolf caught it, but his wide eyes remained on us.

"Uh…Tate, she's turning purple."

"Mhmm." He agreed, titling his head. His grip on my throat tightened until I gagged again, the edges of my vision beginning to darken. "So sugar, what's it gunna be? You gunna play nice?"

I couldn't answer him, but tried to nod. He let me choke a few moments more then released me and watched me crumple to the ground. I coughed and gagged, holding my bruised and sore throat while he crouched down in front of me. He watched me with a sick satisfaction, titling his head to regard me with another horrible smile.

"Ya know, Tasha's been wearin' that shirt for years now, but I don't think she fills it out quite like you do."

I glared up at him, still clutching my throat, letting my hair tumble around my shoulders to shield some of my face. My cheek still throbbed and I knew there would be finger shaped bruises around my throat the next time I looked in a mirror. I wanted to attack him, to reach out with my own long nails and claw out the eyes that so thoroughly infuriated and terrified me. This was what I remembered of werewolves. This is why I had feared them. Cruelty and an animal savagery that made me sick with fear and hatred.

"I agree." Willem grinned, he seemed to be feeding off Tate's confidence now, growing bolder. Tate reached into his back pocket, pulling out the keys and stood slowly moving to unlock the cage door. I took that moment to shove off the ground and onto my feet, but just as with Sabin, I was caught. Willem grabbed my wrists, juggling them into one hand and pressed me back against the cage bars.

"Whoa there, meat-girl. Where you runnin' to?" I fought his hold, jerking with everything I had to break from his grasp, but even if he was smaller than the others, he was still stronger than me. "Ah-ah, didn't we just talk about behaving?"

"Get the fuck away from me you stupid piece of shit." I spat, but he only raised his brows. Behind me I heard the distinct sound of the duct tape being pulled and Tate reached through the bars to grab one of my arms. That was it.

With a furious shriek I surged forward. My knee went to Willem's crotch, my forehead to his nose. I didn't break it because he jumped away too quickly, but I still managed to stun him enough to pull free. While Tate cursed from the cell I kicked the door closed, locking him inside. Even if he had the keys, it gave me extra time and I used it to run for the stairs. This time I made it to the steps. Unfortunately, so did Willem.

He growled deep and threatening and caught my ankle. I tripped, falling forward, my head cracking against the first step and my body went limp. With me stunned, Willem was able to drag me back across the room while Tate reached between the bars to unlock the cage. When the world had stopped spinning, Willem was holding my arms against the concrete floor and Tate had stepped over me.

He gazed down at me with a heat in his yellow burning eyes that made tears well up in mine. I wanted to call for Sabin, for anyone, but who would hear me? Who would care? Tate scowled and kicked me in the stomach. I groaned, curling around myself, but he pushed at my hip with the toe of his boot, to lay me out again.

"Well, now we know you're a liar. Can't trust liars, so I guess we have to get rough, don't we," he said kneeling down and straddling my waist. I tried to hit him again, but Willem kept my arms tightly pinned, grinning like the sick bastard he was. Tate leaned down, stroking a finger down my cheek, pausing as he reached my throat and inspected the sensitive skin there. He found my scar next, looking it over with a heavy frown.

"You really let that parasite suck on you?" he asked, turning my head to inspect the scar more closely. "Don't think I could ever do that. I mean, playful bitin's one thing, but letting him drink yer blood?" He shook his head and let me turn back to glare at him. "How's that get fun?"

"I hear they have some kind of chemical in their saliva, makes it feel good." Willem chimed in, "So their meals don't go screaming and fighting them all the time."

Tate shrugged, "Sounds about right. Guess they'd have to have some way to get their food all docile." He looked back down at me, "So does he bite'cha on the regular?" a sick grin twisted his lips upwards, "Being that you smell so damn tasty, I don't see why he wouldn't. Bet'cha like it too. Regular vamp-whore."

"Get the fuck off of me." I said, unable to stand this anymore. Listening to cheap curses and insults was one thing, but I could _feel_ Tate getting excited against my stomach and fear was steadily growing that this might all get worse than I'd imagined.

"Hey now," Tate laughed, glancing up at the snickering Willem. "It ain't proper for a lady to use language like that. Might have to muzzle you, ya keep it up, ya hear?"

I turned my head away, glaring off at the cage and wishing I'd just stayed inside it. Was Sabin the only wolf here I could trust? Had I been right to fear them all along? A tear blurred my vision and trailed down my cheek to the dirty floor, the salt burning my cheek on its way. Willem laughed above me, and Tate's fingers skimmed down my throat to the collar of my shirt.

I sucked in a breath, turning my eyes up to the ceiling, "Cernunnos!" I cried, my voice wavering with my tears. The wolves laughed at this, Tate tilting his head at me in curiosity. "Cernunnos, please!" but nothing happened, the room remained in place, there was no spinning and no whoosh of air. Either he couldn't hear me, which I didn't believe, or he was _ignoring_ me.

"You prayin' to our gods now?" Tate asked with a laugh, "You think that'll appeal to us or somethin'?"

My sobbing started when the material of my shirt ripped and he leaned forward to breathe me in. Willem just stared at my chest. In his excitement, his claws had come out and they pricked my wrists where he held me too tightly.

Tate, ever the dirtbag, kept eye contact with me as he leaned forward and drew his tongue over the top of my breast. He sat back up with a low growl of pleasure from the back of his throat, and ripped open the rest of my shirt, tracing the line of my bra.

"You're right Will, she does taste good." His forefinger hooked into the cup of my bra and he dragged it down, exposing my breast. I sobbed again, trying to buck him off, to roll or fight, but they had me pinned too well. I was helpless, something I had felt far too often. But _this_ was new, while Isaac might have made serious advances, he'd never gone as far as to molest me. As much as he liked to fuck with me, when I truly wanted him to stop, he did.

I'd never appreciated that more than I did now.

Tate ducked down again, still holding my eyes, and circled his tongue around my nipple with a low purr. Willem was busy laughing. He'd shifted my wrists into one hand and reached out to sink his other hand into the untouched cup of my bra, grasping my breast roughly. I screamed gearing to call Cern again in my desperation, but suddenly Tate slapped me, his hand snapping down to cover my mouth.

"Hush up, sugar. No one wants to listen to yer hollerin', so you keep it down or I'll gag you."

My eyes narrowed, and lost in my anger and fear, I bit down on his hand until he growled. The wolf jerked back, lifting his hand to hit me again, but Willem stopped him despite the burning yellow rage in his eyes.

"If she's all black and blue when the other's see her Malachi is going to be pissed." He warned, glancing back at the stairwell and then to his rapist pig friend. "Tone it down."

Tate growled, but lowered his hand, then jumped up to his feet. "Get her to the cage." He said, inspecting his hand while Willem stood and dragged me to my feet. I immediately began kicking and fighting him, which made Tate's eyes narrow. He marched up, catching my sneaker in the side and then with a hiss of pain, he cocked back his fist and sank it into my gut.

I curled around the blow, wheezing, with lights dancing around my eyes, and this time when Willem dragged me toward the cage, I didn't put up a fight. I was stunned into submission, gagging around the pain and fighting to make my lungs work again. By the time I'd managed to draw a breath, I was inside the cage and Tate was holding my arms up against the bars. Willem, still outside of it, had grabbed the duct tape and was securing my wrists in place. When I couldn't move them anymore, he continued to wrap them just to make me whimper, and Tate started in on me again.

He pushed my bra up over my breasts, leaning down to close his mouth over first one and then the other. When I started to sob again, pleading in nonsensical stings of words, he looked to Willem who pulled a length of tape and smoothed it over my mouth. Duct tape however is not much of a gag and they were irritated to find that I could still scream even if it was slight muffled.

"So what is it that makes you all hot for that leech?" Tate asked, stepping back when Willem entered the cage again and letting him take his turn playing with me. I tried to knee him again, but the smaller wolf growled, grabbing a fistful of my hair, wrenching back my head, and pinching my nipple until I whimpered. Tate continued on, watching me from his place against the wall.

"They all come pretty, so it can't be that. They gotta be to lure their food." His eyes followed Willem as he got down on his knees, licking his way down my stomach before he glanced up at me and tugged my jeans down far enough to kiss the soft concave below them.

"Yer a little thing," Tate continued, "So you don't need a vampire to find a man stronger than you, and he left you here without so much as a kind word, so it ain't _love_ got you crawlin' back to him. To me, that leaves **pain**." He stepped closer, pulling Willem off of me before he could move to my more private parts. Idly he traced my nipple, trailing his fingertip down my stomach. I winced as I felt the sharpness of his claw, it broke the skin, slicing a thin line down below my bellybutton, and the wolf tilted his head.

"Do you like it when he hurts you? Is that it?" He slit another slow gash into me starting at my hip and ending at the hem of my jeans. I shook my head frantically, but he only grinned. I watched in growing sickness as he lifted the clawed finger to his mouth and sucked the blood away.

At the taste of me, his pupils shrank and his yellow eyes seemed to glow. A growl started deep in his chest and he lurched forward, grabbing the bars beside my waist.

"Jesus, you taste…" but he couldn't finish the thought, his eyes fell closed and he breathed me in, excited by the scent of my blood, then sank down onto a knee in front of me. Willem swiped a finger across my gash and tasted me, his own eyes brightening to gold when he did. Meanwhile, Tate had begun to draw at my wounds. He lapped at them hungrily, growling as he did, as if he couldn't help himself, and the longer this went on, the more aggressive he became. When he'd cleaned the wounds he added another, this time deeper than the others. He held my eyes as he drew his claw from my waist down into the hem of my jeans, then growled when the blood bloomed out of it. I feared that once the blood had all been cleaned away, he might actually try to bite me. To my horror he smiled wide, his teeth sharpened to wicked looking points and opened his mouth to do just that when the door to the basement opened.

Willem stumbled back as if putting distance between us might prove he had no hand in this, but Tate didn't seem to care. Not until a growl echoed down the stairs. The wolf pulled back, remaining knelt before me and watched as the huge wolf Rendall descended the stairs, his eyes bright gold.

"_Get out_." He growled at them and Willem scampered off with his proverbial tail between his legs. Tate didn't budge, in fact he chuckled and leaned in to lick at the blood that had begun oozing from my cuts again. This did not a happy, giant wolf make, and Rendall stormed into the cage, grabbing the back of Tate's neck and literally throwing him against the concrete wall.

Tate's head cracked against the stone loudly, and he fell against the dirty mattress with a stunned groan. Rendall reached down, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up off his feet to slam him back against the wall. Tate wheezed, but forced a smile and when he did there was blood smeared across his sharp teeth. I didn't know whether it was his or mine, but couldn't find the energy to care. I'd since gone limp, letting the duct tape support me as the giant wolf leaned forward and growled something into the other's ear that made him laugh.

"Come on, she's just some skanky shadow. Prob'ly be dead by month's end."

Rendall growled again, the sound echoing through the huge basement and Tate gagged as the grip around his throat tightened. I hoped he like it, the sick fuck. Rendall threw him down against the concrete, motioning toward the door, but Tate only rubbed his throat and shook his head.

"What, are you this bitch's keeper? Since when do you care if a leech's plaything gets what's owned 'em?" The giant wolf's next growl was answer enough, and Tate pushed himself from the ground holding up his hands. "Then again if you were just waitin' for your turn that's fine too. Watch out though, she's got a mouth on her." And with that, he winked at me and hurried out of the basement.

When Rendall turned to me, his eyes were still yellow, but the expression on his face was pained. I whimpered when he reached for me, and he paused, taking a slow breath.

The wolf did his best to fix my bra without actually touching my skin and pulled the tape from my mouth. I was still sobbing as he grew his claws and slashed through the tape at my wrists, catching me when my legs shook too badly to support myself.

"It's over," he said, slipping his arms under me to lift me up and carry me to the mattress on the floor. He set me down gently and knelt down, pulling off his tee-shirt and offering it to me. I clutched it against myself, and when it became clear that I wasn't calm enough to put it on myself, he hushed me and softly asked me to lift my arms. He helped me into the shirt, tugging it down around me and when he was finished, I sobbed loudly, throwing my arms around his neck. Rendall didn't seem to know what to do at first and just sat there, arms at his sides, until finally he closed them around me, awkwardly patting my back.

"I have to get Sabin." He said gruffly, trying to extricate himself from my vice grip, but I shook my head.

"What if they-"

"They won't." he said, and by the anger in his voice, I knew it was true. He found the key ring on the floor and handed it to me. "Close the door behind me and Sabin will be here as soon as he can."

I nodded, but before he could stand, I'd hugged him again. "Thank you." I sniffled into his shoulder, repeating it over and over until I could do nothing but cry.

Rendall nodded, pulling away and moved to the cage door. He glanced back at me to make sure I'd closed it and watched me curl up into the far corner of the cage, looking pained again. Then with a soft growl he couldn't keep back, he bounded up the stairs and slammed the door behind him. I was left to sob in the harsh florescent light.

I don't know how long I waited, but the sound of the door put me on edge and I clutched the key ring to my chest as if it would protect me. Sabin took the stairs in two leaps, landing in a crouch at the base and when he saw me, his expression turned hard.

"What happened?" he asked, the rage that churned behind his voice was enough to make me nervous as he unlocked the cage with his own key and closed it behind him. The moment he'd knelt in front of me I shook my head. I don't know why I didn't want to talk about it, shame perhaps, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me roughly.

"Damnit, Mira what did they do?" My head hung forward and I hiccupped on my tears, so Sabin began to inspect me. "Where the fuck is your shirt?"

"R-ripped it." I managed to get out.

"Did they touch you?" he demanded, and I nodded, letting him wipe away my tears, though his hands were shaking. "_Where_." This was spoken roughly, as his throat began to change in his anger but I shook my head.

"Just…just my…" my arm wrapped around my chest, and that was answer enough. He seemed to calm a moment at that, thankful that it hadn't been worse, but when he took his next breath his body went rigid.

"You're bleeding." He said in a hollow voice.

"He scratched me." I murmured swallowing passed the lump in my throat.

Sabin's golden eyes brightened, his pupils shrinking and he reached for my shirt. I tried to swat him away, but he growled, making me jump and go still. He lifted my shirt up around my stomach starring at the gashes there, and I could _hear_ his teeth grinding together. Then something occurred to me and my stomach dropped, threatening to make me vomit.

"Oh, god." I breathed, and Sabin's eyes snapped up in alarm. "He _scratched _me! What if- oh god what if I…" I dissolved into tears again. Sabin hurried to console me, shaking his head.

"It doesn't work that way, Mira. The infection comes from the saliva and our teeth when we've changed. It has to get into your blood to transfer."

"But it burns!" I cried, panicking, "He was licking me, and-"

He grabbed my shoulders, looking me directly into the eye. "No." he said firmly. "The change happens from a bite. _Only_ a bite. Even if he'd nicked you with his teeth, it would take a full bite to start the change and you are fine."

"But-"

"It burns because there is still an infectant in our claws, but it won't do anything but irritate your skin and it isn't bad enough to cause real pain." He leaned forward, trying to make me understand. "You're fine, Mira. You aren't going to change."

I exhaled and with it my body went limp again. I fell against him, letting him catch me and hold me against his chest. I didn't even have the strength to cry anymore. We remained like that a long time, and Sabin fell into a stiff silence, his mind on what had happened though thinking about it seemed to make his fury grow.

"What happened to Vilkas?" I asked, softly, wiping away my remaining tears on his shoulder. The wolf was quiet a moment, before he scoffed.

"Does it matter?"

"He didn't seriously hurt you?" I asked softly. Sabin laughed, though it was tense and a tiny bit forced. He'd apparently lost his shirt during the fight, and the slashes across his chest and side looked angry. They were far deeper than mine. He was also covered in bruises, though they already seemed to be healing, all the greenish yellow that comes at the end of the process. And I couldn't be sure, but he might have been favoring one leg, just a bit when he'd come in.

"He got a few good hits in, made me bleed a little, but I got him to the ground. He won't be challenging me anytime soon."

"Good." I murmured.

The wolf laughed at this, but the sound was angry and shook his head. "What is wrong with you? Who gives a fuck if _I'm_ hurt, I'll survive. You on the other hand-"

"I'm fine now." I said, managing to keep my voice steady even if it wasn't very strong.

"_Don't lie to me_." He snarled, and I drew away from him, eyes wide. The wolf cursed under his breath and hung his head a moment, fighting to get himself back under control, and when next he spoke his voice was smooth and fully human. "I need you to take off your shirt."

"Why?" I demanded, my arms going back around myself protectively, but he wasn't paying attention.

Sabin jumped to his feet and moved out of the cage to the plywood cabinet where Tate had gotten the tape. This time I saw without a doubt his slight limp, and wondered how bad his injuries actually were. Was he really biting them down just for my benefit? The wolf returned with a bottle of peroxide and a first aid kit in a tin box, setting them beside me.

"I have to clean your wounds, or they'll get infected." He muttered, looking furious and barely contained.

"I'm fine. I just need to-"

"_Take. Off. Your. Shirt_." His eyes were still blazing, his body tensed and I stared at him a long moment before deciding it was better to let him do this, even if I didn't want to be touched.

Slowly I pulled Rendall's shirt over my head, setting it beside me and then removed the remains of Tasha's. At the sight of this, his fists clenched at his sides, but he didn't say anything and instead turned to the first aid kit.

He didn't bother sorting through it, simply upended the box and grabbed the cotton swabs when they scattered with everything else. Honestly it was flattering that he was so angry by this, and a reassurance that not the wolves acted that way, but at the same time, he was starting to make me nervous. His eyes had yet to dim back to their pretty golden color, and blazed on, the pupils tiny and furious and when he grabbed my waist, he wasn't gentle.

My sharp intake of breath must have alerted him that he'd startled me because he quickly pulled back, closing his eyes and taking a breath to calm himself. Then after a few moment, he opened the peroxide bottle and wet a swab, dabbing it across the deepest of my cuts.

I knew it would burn, but not to this extent and I hissed, trying to pull away from him, but I was trapped between the wolf and the bars of the cage. Sabin jerked back, meeting my eyes a moment, and I could tell he was fighting the urge to snap at me.

"You have to be still." He said, voice shaking. I shook my head.

"You're making it worse."

"Mira…"

"I'll be fine if you'd just-"

"**Shut your damn mouth and let me do this**!" he exploded, and I shrank away from him again. Maybe this was one of the reasons his mate kept running away. His temper was short and even when he wanted to help, he couldn't keep it in check. It would have been endearing if it wasn't so fucking scary.

I touched his hand, knowing I had to calm him down and when he met my eyes I gave a tiny smile. Before he could reject it, I'd pulled him into a hug, holding tightly.

"It's over now," I said, knowing it was true and feeling the strength in my voice return, "I'm going to be ok, I promise." How strange that after nearly being raped, I was comforting _him_.

Sabin gently pushed me back, but wouldn't meet my eyes. Instead he went back to cleaning the gashes, trying his best not to yell at me when I jerked away here and there. Maybe it was just because of how I'd gotten them, but fuck did they burn. Cleaning them was worse them having Tate cut me, and I was forced to grit my teeth and cling to the bars behind me to remain still.

When he'd finished, Sabin ripped open a packet of gauze with his teeth and pushed it up against my wounds, motioning that I hold it in place. Then he found the small roll of tape in the mess and began wrapping me. When he was done, he stood without a word and turned on his heel, moving for the stairs.

"Sabin?" I called after him, but he'd already slammed the door and I was left to gather the contents of the kit and pile it all back into the box. I capped the peroxide and carried all back to the cabinet, tossing them inside and closing the door. After that, I really did know what to do, so I moved to the deep basin sink up against the far wall and washed my face. The cool water was a blessing against my skin and after a few minutes of washing I felt closer to my normal self again.

When the door at the top of the stairs burst open I jumped, and wrapped my arms around myself. I hadn't put Rendall's shirt back on yet and blushed at being exposed. Sabin stepped down onto the stair, dragging a growling wolf behind him, and when I saw that it was Willem, I rushed into the cage to hold the huge shirt against myself.

Sabin wasn't gentle. He dragged the wolf through the door and halfway down the stairs shoved him, watching him tumble from step to step and lad in a groaning pile at the base. His eyes still blazed and his pace was slow and deliberate, while Willem, who's hands had been taped up behind his back scambled to get back onto his feet. He didn't make it, though, because when Sabin got to him, he kicked him down, and I heard the distinct sound of a bone snapping. Willem howled, curling around his now broken rip and began to pant.

"Fuck man, she's just a shadow! What the hell is your problem?" Sabin ignored this and instead grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him up to his feet.

"Is this him?" He asked, gripping the wolf's collar, though he growled and bared his sharpened teeth at him.

I nodded, my fingers painfully tight around the bars. I don't know why I was remaining in the cage when it was opened, but it felt safer in here. "He didn't touch me as much as the other one though."

Sabin let out a slow breath, closing his eyes a moment, then cracked his neck. When his eyes opened again, they were pale yellow and gleaming. "Come out here, Mira."

I watched him a long moment at first, vary, but the wolf only sighed. "Come on, no one's going to hurt you."

I made a slow path to the open cell door, pausing there a moment when Willem growled and started struggling again. Sabin made a short menacing sound deep in his chest and shoved the wolf back down on his knees, squeezing the back of his neck until he let out a high-pitched whine.

"Don't mind him, he's just embarrassed." Sabin said waving me toward them until I stopped a few feet away. He tossed me the wad of cloth he'd been gripping, which turned out to be a thin, sleeveless turtleneck. Normally I couldn't stand the things, but I pulled it on thankful that it would cover the bruises on my neck where Tate had choked me. Willem watched this and sneered.

"It's like a strip tease in reverse. I think I'd rather you just got naked again."

Sabin's fist flashed out and there went rib number two. While Willem wheezed and cursed at the ground, I looked up at the enraged wolf.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as if they might protect me. Or maybe it was just the sight of my attacker. Looking at him now I could feel his fingers on my hip, my breasts and it turned my stomach.

"Me?" Sabin asked, smiling down at the other wolf. "Nothing. I want _you_ to hit him."

"_What_?" I asked at the same time as Willem. Sabin slammed him down again, then looked to me.

"You heard me. Hit him, or kick him, just do something. Our laws are very strict when it comes to what he's done. We do not take this crime lightly."

"But I-"

"If he thinks he can get away with it this time, it will lead to more offenses. I will not allow him to hurt our women, but it is not my place to defend one who isn't in this pack." Sabin shrugged, "So I leave it to you. You won't be blamed, and he isn't going to touch you because if he does," here, Sabin reached down to grab Willem by the hair and look down into his face with a dangerous smile, "I _will_ step in."

"She's just a stupid meat girl!" Willem cried, "You don't even know her!"

"You're right, but my _mate's_ life is contingent on her well being. If you attack her, my hands are no longer tied and I will tear you apart."

Willem whined again, high pitched like a dog, then turned his nervous brown eyes on me. I could only stare at him, until Sabin cleared his throat and raised his brows at me expectantly.

"I don't know what to do." I said, my throat was dry and I kept closing and opening my hands in my anxiety. The wolf was good enough to smile at me in his disarming way and nodded toward my hands.

"Make a fist, come here, and hit him."

"In the face?" I asked, glancing between the two.

He smirked at Willem's expression and shrugged, "If that's what suits you."

"I've never-"

"Jesus Mira just hit him!" Sabin exclaimed and in a flustered fit, I obeyed. I swung, closing my eyes and looking away from him, and my fist connected with the side of his head.

At the sound of soft laughter, I opened my eyes again. Sabin was looking at me with a mixture of disbelief and humor. To my mortification, Willem was the one laughing. He shook his head and looked up at me.

"What the hell was _that_? Here I was thinking you could actually hurt me, didn't know you had a fist like a pillow."

I scowled and Sabin gave a heavy sigh. "Sorry but I've got to agree with him. Have you never been in a fight?" I shook my head, clenching my fists at my sides.

"I changed my mind, Sabin," Willem said, the tension draining from his body. "You can let her beat me all she wants. Don't even have to hold me down." He looked up at me and his smile was repulsive, "I think it's cute, baby, you're kinda turning me on."

I think Sabin was going to break another of his ribs then then, but he didn't get the chance. Anger swelled in my chest until it was all I could feel and my fist shot out of its own volition. I felt my knuckles crack against his jaw, snapping his head to the side. He cursed, the words half garbled by his growl and looked back up at me.

"Fucking little bitch. Hit me again and I'll-"

I cut him off with another sock to the face, this time connecting with his cheek bone. I felt the flesh spilt under my knuckles and came away with blood on my hand. Sabin whistled his approval, inspecting the split a moment before he hauled Willem up to his feet and nodded for me to continue.

I thought back to when he'd been in my cell. The way he'd touched me. The way he'd held me down for Tate, and laughed when I began to cry. My rage built, bubbling inside me and demanding retribution. I hit him twice more once against his jaw and then again in the gut. I would have preferred that he doubled over in pain, like they do on TV, but I couldn't put enough force behind it and he only winced.

After that something snapped inside me. Anger more potent than I'd realized filled me to the brim, heating my blood, boiling my brain until I just let go. My fists seemed to move on their own after that. I hit him again and again, his face his chest. I even kicked him once. I wasn't just attacking for me anymore, this was for my parents, my sister. Then, when I was panting and my hands were screaming in pain from my split knuckles, I put all of my weight into one last strike. This time, when I hit him in the gut, Willem doubled over, wheezing and Sabin let him drop to his knees again, moving to drag me away lest I attack again.

"Whoa there, little red, I think he's had enough now." He caught me when I sagged; leading me to the wall so I could catch my breath again. From the floor Willem managed to sit straight, his eyes were no longer brown and he seemed to have grown a little in size, as if his muscles had swollen beneath his skin. When he bared his pointed teeth, they were streaked with blood and he spat it on the ground at me.

Sabin dragged him roughly from the ground and began to unbind his arms roughly. "You can get the hell out of here now, maybe go explain to the boys that the 100 pound shadow just kicked your ass."

"What about Taint?" I asked and my voice was husky. Sabin glanced back at me as he pulled away the last of the rope from Willem and the other wolf began to rub his wrists. He smirked at my misuse of the name and nodded up the stairs.

"Rendall's taking care of that one. He's a repeat offender, seems to think human girls aren't worth as much as ours."

I nodded, "I hope the big guy beats his brains in."

Willem's eyes narrowed and Sabin gave me a strange look, before glancing at the other. "I doubt it. We don't kill our own unless we have to."

"Pity." I murmured, starring down at the concrete, "Some people deserve it."

"Crazy bitch." Willem spat, snapping his teeth when I glared up at him. "You'd better hope I never see you again."

"Threaten her, you threaten my wife, Will, don't be an idiot." Sabin growled, but the wolf only laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But your mate's getting back in the next hour, after that this one's free game." Willem grinned wide, the expression all the more unnerving for the blood, "I know you'll taste as good as you smell. Can't wait to try the rest of you."

"_Out_."Sabin growled and the wolf obeyed with one last glare my direction, once he'd disappeared up the stairs, I looked to Sabin.

"I thought you said you didn't eat humans." I scowled, "That sounded an awful lot like a threat to eat me."

"There's an exception to every rule, Mira." He sighed, "But don't worry, if he so much as sniffs around you, I'll stop him. Put it out of your mind."

I nodded, but something in the back of my brain told me there was a little more to it. The wolves made too many references to eating humans for my taste, but I didn't want to push the subject.

"You needed that didn't you?" Sabin asked after it seemed the silence would swallow us whole. I glanced up at him and shrugged.

"It felt good, if that's what you're asking. I don't get many opportunities to let go like that."

"You should." He said, searching my expression, "I had no idea there was so much anger inside you."

"I just couldn't stop picturing what he did. I lost it for a little bit."

"No," Sabin shook his head, watching me closely, "That wasn't just for those bastards, it's deeper than that."

"You're point?" I asked, closing my arms around myself. The wolf chuckled, leaning back against the wall beside me while I rubbed my split knuckles.

"No point, just an observation. I live with some pretty crabby females, and when they're ragging, you don't even want to catch their attention, but you, Mira, I don't think I've ever met anyone as angry as you." He looked me over, "and that includes my woman."

I didn't respond, but he knew I was embarrassed and only smiled it off. It seemed that watching my beat on Willem had calmed him down considerably. "Don't think I'm judging you, little red. Lord knows I have no room to talk. I have a remarkably short temper. It's part of why Cali ran, not that I blame her. I've got an animal in here," he touched his chest, starring down at the ground, "rattling around and snapping its teeth. Fighting every moment of every day to rip its way out and take over. Sometimes, I almost want to let it, just for the peace of letting go." He seemed to snap back to earth then, and turned to me, expression solemn, "I get it, Mira. Really I do, but you have to force it down. I lost the one I care about to my demons, she looks at me and all she sees is the animal. She refuses to believe that I could love her."

"Do you?" I asked softly.

Sabin sighed, leaning back against the wall to rest his head against it and closing his eyes. "Not at first, and now with everything I have."

"So prove it." I said, standing strait and turning to face him. "Show her that you love her."

The werewolf arched a brow, opening his eyes to stare at me with humor and a touch of grief. "It's too late for that, baby-doll. She doesn't trust me anymore. She doesn't trust anyone."

"Well dragging her back here every couple months isn't helping."

He laughed, and the sound was pained and soft. "She's a danger to herself and the people around her." he said, "she's too emotional and without control she's going to hurt someone. And even if that wasn't the case I'm too selfish to let her go. So I'll chase her forever, I'll drag her back here every time she runs and let her hate me and fuck me and hurt me. Just as long as she is with me, that's all that matters. As long as I can keep her safe and at my side. As long as I can protect her, from herself as well as the world."

I watched him a moment, feeling a swell of compassion for the wolf I hadn't thought possible. With a smile, I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Well _I_ know you love her. You're a better man than she thinks."

Sabin's shock at my kiss was short-lived, and I watched the surprise melt into something unreadable. Moving before I could anticipate it, he grabbed my shoulder spinning us around and pinning me back against the wall. His other hand slipped into my hair, forcing my head back and he bent down to kiss me with an enthusiasm I could only attribute to a wild animal. When he pulled back I was frozen in shock and panting, gazing up at him with wide eyes.

"Don't be so quick to praise me, Mira. I am not and never have been a good man." He leaned forward breathing me in and shivering in pleasure of the scent. "I am a monster."

At this I shook my head, pushing back on his chest so I could look into his eyes. He wanted to shock me, and it had worked, but I saw through him. He couldn't chase me off.

"I know monsters," I said slowly, "I've met more of them than you would believe. _You_ Sabin," I reached up to stroke his cheek, "are_ nothing_ like them."

He seemed taken aback by that and after a moment chuckled. He was just about to reply when the door at the top of the stairs opened and Rendall the mammoth stepped into view. He took in our positions, cocked a meaningful brow at the grinning Sabin and nodded toward the kitchen.

"We just got the call. The vampires are on their way with Accalia." Then he looked between us, "Unless of course you think we should stall them. Maybe even call the whole thing off?"

I pushed Sabin back and moved toward the stairs, trying my best to hide my raging blush, but the wolf only laughed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me toward the stairs and Rendall's amused almost-smile.

"Back to the boyfriend," he said. "Aren't you excited?"

I took a slow breath, but didn't reply and that made the wolf laugh harder.

"Me too. Can't wait for the yelling to start once Cali sees me. She has the cutest way of insulting me. I can't get enough of it."

Rendall rolled his eyes and turned to lead us toward the office, while I tried to figure out what exactly I was dreading so much. I was however, pleased to see that _his_ knuckles were just as torn and bloodied as my own.

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**Ok, damnit so these chapters just keep expanding, but fear not, Isaac is coming back…teehee, and with treats I think you might enjoy. I was planning on just saying fuck it and posting it all together as one long ass chapter, but as it turns out it was WAAAAAAY longer than I expected, so I'm splitting it in half…-sigh- AGAIN**

**Anywho, since these chapters were never supposed to be this long, I'm just going to post them all as quickly as I can get them up, no more waiting, but in exchange you must tell me what you think about them damnit! I must know!**


	31. Not What You Expected

**WARNING the following chapter contains sexual content that might make a few of you uncomfortable. The only advice I can give is to suck it up, or don't read it at all. Sorry, it get a little….ahem…bondage-y.**

* * *

Sabin, still bare-chested, had decided to throw on a shirt before we went to the Alpha's office, so I remained in the kitchen with Rendall while he disappeared upstairs. The huge wolf didn't speak, not that I really expected him to, but I felt safe enough around him now that it didn't matter. I wanted more than anything to ask him what exactly he'd done to Tate, but after Sabin's little episode felt a bit nervous to breach the subject. It didn't matter because Rendall apparently could read minds.

"You shouldn't think about it." He grumbled in his deep, rough voice. It was obvious he didn't want to talk, either to me or at all, but he was trying his best. "Bastard isn't worth it."

"Aren't I supposed to face the situation or something?" I muttered back, tugging at the bottom of my shirt. "I've heard I'm supposed to talk about it to somebody."

"Would that really help?" He asked, crossing his big arms. "Would reliving it make it better?"

I shook my head, taking a deep breath and shuddering at the image of Tate's smile. I wondered if I would dream of the bastard. "Not in the least."

"Then don't." Rendall replied and that was the end of it.

Sabin joined us a few minutes later dressed in fresh clothes, and offered me his best charming smile. "Let's get this over with. What say you?"

"Aye." I nodded and he motioned toward the Alpha's thick wooden door like a general ushering in troops. I giggled at the image and followed the friendly mammoth down the hallway.

We were the first in. Malachi stood at the wide bookshelf that took up the wall behind his desk. When he noticed us, his eyes went directly to me and he pulled on a smile that didn't reach his eyes soon enough to be genuine. Sabin was the last inside and as soon as he'd shut the door, Malachi was moving forward, motioning toward the chairs in front of his desk.

"Please sit, Mira." He leaned back against the front of his desk, and I took my place, feeling nervous to be under his scrutiny. His face became very serious once he'd glanced at his son beside me and he templed his hands beneath his chin, sighing heavily.

"I was given the news a moment ago. It seems there was more than one incident today." His gaze slipped back to Sabin, who cast his eyes on the floor. Malachi turned back to me and I was startled when he took my hand. "If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask."

"I wouldn't give her that much leeway, sir." Sabin smirked, pushing at my shoulder gently when his father moved back around his desk. He was trying to relax me. Apparently I wasn't good at pretending the Alpha didn't unnerve me. I wasn't even sure what it was about him that made me nervous. His eyes perhaps, they were too hard, maybe even a little cruel. Perhaps my glimpse at Sabin's childhood through Taint had colored my opinion.

Malachi settled into his leather chair and folded his hand on top of his desk. He looked gravely serious again and met my eyes levelly. I did my best not to shrink back into my chair, but I'm not sure it was working because Sabin took the chair beside mine and laced our fingers below the desk, out of sight. The others didn't seem to notice, or they didn't let on. Then again, maybe Sabin was just good at reading me. The thought brought on equal parts worry and interest.

"Any unfavorable feelings you might bear toward our _Ejecutor_ is completely understandable."

"You're what now?" I interrupted, arching a brow. Malachi's eyes narrowed a moment, but he covered his irritation quickly. This one wasn't used to being interrupted apparently. Sabin was quick to cover the silence.

"_Ejecutor_ is Spanish. It means Enforcer. Tate is one of many martinets for our Alpha, as are Rendall and I. We are like your leech, disciplinarians and soldiers for our General."

I sat back in my chair pulling my hand from his to look at him. "You do the dirty work?"

He paused, gauging my expression, but nodded. "When I must."

That meant the wolves killed as well, if less than vampires. More importantly, that meant that Sabin killed. I didn't take his hand again, but respected the fact that he was honest with me. That was better than what I usually got.

"Yes, well," Malachi cleared his throat. "That being said, we are aware that your _Isaac_ is well within his right to seek retribution, should he feel that this incident was an affront against him." He looked me directly in the eyes again, making me go still. "I wish there was a more delicate way to handle this, but it seems we have little time before your vampire arrives. I must ask that, should you tell him about what has happened, you refrain from-"

This time I interrupted him on purpose for being an asshole. "Refrain from what, telling him what really happened?" I scoffed and pulled down the turtle neck of my shirt, flashing the shiny new hand shaped bruise around my throat, "So I'll tell him this was just an over-zealous hug right?"

He held up a hand to placate me, "Please understand that I am in no way discounting the severity of the situation. I assure you, whatever punishment these men have dealt," he caste them both a look that said he wasn't completely pleased by their hasty action, "Will not be all that they receive. It is a serious crime to our people to touch a woman who in unwilling, whether she is one of our own or not."

He seemed to have tacked on that last part for my benefit. I knew better than to think that this courtesy ever extended to women outside their pack. Malachi wanted me to keep Isaac from killing any of his men, by downplaying what had happened, and he was a jackass if he I thought I took it for anything but what it was. I bet he would have asked me to keep it quiet completely if I hadn't gotten the telling bruise. I liked this man less and less, and I'd talked with him the least out of them all.

"I'll do what I can." I finally bit out, glancing at Sabin. He was stiff in his seat, obviously no more pleased by this than I was. Malachi offered him a quick look then nodded my way.

"I hesitate to thank you for something so unsavory."

"You should." I snapped, fully aware that with my tone and my eyes I was challenging the werewolf, but at this point I didn't much care. Sabin was right, I was full of rage, and right now just a little had escaped toward the Alpha. He watched me a moment, expression darkening just a little and I think he might have commented on this had one of the other wolves not come into the office.

"They are here sir." He said, bowing his head in respect. Malachi nodded, keeping his attention on me a moment longer before motioning that the wolf leave.

"Tell them to please come in." he sighed.

"I'm sure they heard you." I said, turning to face the door. The room was quiet, but I'm not sure if my comment had unnerved them. Either way I felt a slight twisted pleasure from saying it.

Three other wolves, which I could only assume were _Ejecutors_ too, filed into the office and took their places around it. Feeling a little anxious, I pulled up the neck of my shirt and stood up, grabbing the back of my chair. Outside the thick office door I could hear muffled voices and a few of the wolves snickered.

"Sounds like she's in a mood, Sabin," one of them grinned.

"Better git your flak jacket on." Another added. Sabin only sighed heavily and seemed to mentally ready himself. Jesus, you would have thought he was gearing for war by the look on his face. I half expected a monster to storm into the room.

Sanura however was the first to enter the room, and in an instant it was quiet, though I was smiling. She saw me, and gave me a quick once over, checking to see that I was in one piece, then returned my smile and moved across the room to me in a single fluid motion.

The vampire pulled me into a quick hug, but I think she was still checking for injuries, wondering if I'd flinch in pain when she touched me. She frowned briefly at my split knuckles, but I waved it off and she reluctantly ignored them. It was good to know that she'd worried about me, better when she sighed in relief and held me out to smile at me.

"We came as quickly as we could, kitten." Her eyes cut to Sabin and narrowed slightly, "We might have been here sooner if the dog girl hadn't made such a nuisance of herself." Sabin arched a brow at her obvious dislike of him and chuckled to himself. Sanura looked back at me then and her smile fell just a little. She leaned in close and took a quick sniff of me.

"Oh, Mira," she sighed wearily, pulling away from me "Not again. Isaac is going to-"

But the office door was opening and the vampire in question came strolling in, expression unreadable. He had forgone his normal rings and punkish clothing for a pair of dark jeans and a black button-down dress shirt. One hand rested back on his shoulder, his forefinger hooked casually around the chain connecting a set of abnormally thick handcuffs. Behind him, stumbling as she tried to keep up with his quick pace was a smaller girl, just a little shorter than my 5'6.

Accalia wasn't what I'd expected. Instead of an intimidating she-wolf, she was small and slender, though curvier than me, with long, dark red hair that curled tightly down to her mid-back. It was still obvious that she had put up quite the struggle on the way here, as her wrists were rubbed raw where the cuffs touched them. She'd gone so far as to draw blood. When Isaac came to a stop she tried to grumble something at him through the ball of cloth that had been stuffed in her mouth like a gag. The angry string of muffled words came to an abrupt stop however when she saw Sabin.

I watched, clutching the back of my chair as her leafy green eyes turned pale gold, the pupils shrinking considerably. Her fingers, balled into fists and the room filled with her threatening growl. Sabin, who had been sitting casually with his head resting against his hand met her gaze and returned the threat without moving. (Though his growl was far more menacing and _everyone_ knew it) Looking more than livid, she lowered her head submissively and glared holes in the floor.

"It seems you have kept your word, vampire." Malachi smiled as Sanura took the girl's chain from Isaac. "I can't say I'm not surprised."

"You have what is mine, Mr. Lykaios. What would you have done?" Isaac said, moving slowly across the room. When he came to me, he went still, eyes sweeping my form then snapping to Sabin. There was the briefest flash of anger and something else, before his expression went neutral again and he returned to the wolf-girl.

"You see that your little toy is not harmed." Malachi motioned vaguely at me, his tight, businessman smile still in place. Isaac returned it with a close-lipped smile so gray it made me nervous. He was holding back something violent, though I didn't know what I'd done. I'd have to ask Sanura if he didn't yell at me for whatever it was first.

"We tried to keep this one unmarred, but she seemed somewhat unhappy to return to you." The vampire replied, slipping a key from the back pocket of his jeans. "In fact, she attempted to roll out of our car on the highway."

Sabin was still watching Accalia unflinching as she snuck little glances his way. She looked furious and terrified at the same time. What would they do with her once we were gone, I wondered?

"So her wounds are all self-inflicted, are they?" Malachai asked, steepling his hands over his desk and taking a long look at the girl. Isaac nodded, unlocking the first cuff but keeping hold of her raw wrist so that she winced. The sight of her pain seemed to put the other wolves on edge, but Isaac didn't care.

"It was the only thing we could do to assure her return. We couldn't have her _really_ hurting herself. " He caught a slowly moving trail of blood with his finger and brought it to his lips with a short wicked grin.

Seeing this, Sabin shot to his feet with a growl, sending his chair crashing down to the floor. Malachi shouted something I didn't catch and whatever he'd been planning to do was stopped, though the look in Sabin's golden eyes said he wanted to rip Isaac apart. The vampire, however, had not flinched and now only watched the wolf mockingly as he unlocked the second cuff and tossed them to Sanura.

"You may remove her gag as well, vampire. I'm sure we would all like to hear her reasoning for all of this trouble." When Malachi looked at her, Accalia's rage melted to simple fear and she tried to hide her face with the tangled red hair around it. Isaac, apparently in a mood, reached up and jerked the cloth from her mouth roughly, tossing it on the Alpha's desk. It was meant to be an insult of some kind, I knew that much, and it was obvious Malachi took it that way by the lighter color of his eyes, though he didn't say anything.

The wolf-girl growled again short and oddly feminine, before distancing herself from the vampires and moving toward me. I seemed to be in the neutral territory between both parties, so I didn't feel threatened by this. Rubbing her wrists, she looked between the members of her pack and sighed.

"So?"Isaac smiled, "What _did_ prompt such a stupid plan?"

I shot him a look which she caught for being needlessly rude, but Sabin answered before she could.

"It's a game we play together." He smiled moving slowly to right his fallen chair as he spoke. Accalia's eyes never left him, and this close, I noticed she was trembling. Sabin gripped the back of his chair once it was back in place and leaned into it, titling his head at the girl who was supposed to be his mate. "She runs from me, I catch her, and drag her back."

"You didn't even_ look_ for her this time." I said, crossing my arms. He glanced my way before meeting her eyes again meaningfully.

"Yes, well. The game has lost some of its charm as of late."

"You can't have me."

The room quieted as Accalia finally spoke. Her voice was strong, though she was so small. She sounded sure and angry, holding herself strait as she spoke to him, watching the calm slide from his expression.

"Even if you lock me away in that cage forever." She said, "I will _never_ be yours."

Sabin's lips peeled back from his teeth to reveal that they had taken on a distinctly canine caste, all sharp, and as terrible as the resonating snarl that came with them. Accalia flinched back, but didn't look away from him, which only made things worse. In fact, the longer she held his eyes, the paler and more animalistic they became. She was challenging him despite her fear and a part of me liked her for that. This one had balls, that was for sure.

"Come now, dearest," Malachi soothed, obviously trying to stop the fight before it happened and calm his son, "You mustn't blame your husband. He was only worried about you."

She laughed harshly. "Oh, right!" she said, voice full of angry sarcasm, "He was so worried that he went to that weasely little bitch, Cassidy for comfort?" She turned her glare back to Sabin, "I can smell her stink on you from here, you bastard."

The wolf returned her glare and tightened his grip on the chair until the wood cracked. "You know exactly what that means, Cali. Don't make it into something vulgar just to yell at me."

She shook her head, then whipped her hand out toward me. I sucked in a breath as her fingers gripped my hair and she yanked me closer. "And what about this one?" she asked, her voice dropping a pitch and losing a bit of its smoothness. She ducked down to take a loud sniff of my neck and growled, "The bitch smells like she took a _bath_ in you, Sabin. Explain that one away."

Was _that_ what had made Isaac scowl? Well shit, to him it must have smelled as if I'd been throwing myself into the arms of every wolf here. That was just fucking great. As if he wasn't already pissed enough about Cernunnos, now I'd have to explain this one. Wonderful.

"No no no. We didn't-"

I jumped when Sabin's chair finally gave beneath his fingers with a loud snap. The wolf grit his dangerously sharp teeth, curling and uncurling his fingers. Looking closer I realized they were claws now, his fingers longer than they had been before and slowly growing.

"What about you, Cali?" he asked, voice now rough and oddly hollow like hers. More of a growl than anything and I wondered if their throats were shifting along with the rest of their bodies in their rage.

"Were there no meat-boys this time?"

"And if I said there were?" she challenged, stepping toward him and releasing me as he matched her step.

"_Puta infiel_." He seethed in Spanish.

"Oh, _I'm_ the cheating whore?" she laughed caustically, "You're right, and I'm sure at _no_ point did you come on to that little bitch over there."

"**Enough children**." Malachi's voice carried over the room with such authority that even_ I_ felt a little embarrassed for what had happened. Sabin, who looked as if he'd been on the verge of attacking her, drew back a step with great difficulty. Accalia, however, crossed her arms over her chest and cocked out a hip. Gone was the fear from before. Now she was just pissed…and her _ears_ were pointed.

"Mira," Isaac said suddenly, his voice the soft calm that meat he was truly furious, "Kindly move away from the unstable dogs."

Accalia's eyes flashed before she turned to me with an understanding grin. It was slightly unnerving that she could go from rage to this so quickly. "So _you're_ the one he was yackin' on about?" She looked me over and shrugged, "Don't seem worth the trouble."

I gave her a catty smile, "Funny, I was thinking the same about you." It just sort of slipped out. I'd had a shitty day and even though he wasn't being very nice either, I didn't like the way she spoke to Sabin. Was this really the woman he loved? Jesus, how fucked up was that?

Her smile fell and she stared at me a long moment, in which I completely forgot to NOT hold her eyes, but this seemed to be fine with her. With a shake of the head, she laughed, real and happy, patting me hard on the back.

"I like you." She grinned, "I can see why the unfaithful prick over there tumbled with you."

My eyes shot wide and I shook my head, "No. We didn't—I mean, I would _never-_"

"Save your breath Mira." Sabin said, teeth back to their blunt human state, "Once she's made up her mind, nothing changes it."

From the wall Rendall groaned softly and hung his head, as Accalia marched right up to Sabin. Though she only came up to his shoulder, the girl fisted one hand and stabbed him in the chest with another.

"You talk as if you aren't the most stubborn bastard on this earth. How many times do I have to run away from here for you to get it through your brain that I hate this place?"

"And how much trouble do you have to get into before _you_ realize it's the only home that can keep you safe?" he snapped back.

"This isn't my home." She spat and then, her eyes were shining with tears, whether from grief or rage I couldn't really be sure. "I spend all of my time here in that fucking _cage_ and you tell me I should call this home?"

"You hurt people Cali!" Sabin exclaimed, "What else can we do when you attack everything that comes near you? How many times have you swiped at me? Jesus, woman, it's the only option we have, and the only way we can keep you safe."

"You don't give a damn about keeping me safe." She growled, punching him in the side. Sabin shifted so that he caught very little of the impact and grabbed her wrists. "You didn't even come for me when you found out the leeches had me you bastard."

Sabin laughed incredulously, "You know why I couldn't do that."

"Of course I do," she said, refusing to look at him now, "Because you don't give a shit about me."

The werewolf growled and grabbed her jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes, "_You know better_."

Accalia blinked away her tears and suddenly threw herself against him. She buried her face in his chest, clinging tightly to his shirt. "I was so scared, Sabin. Their leader told me he'd always wanted a dog. He said he'd keep me on a chain and feed me from a bowl like I was his pet." She sucked in a breath when Sabin grabbed her arms and held her out to look into her face, looking furious again but not at her. "God Sabin, the things he said and his eyes, they were so _cold_. He made me wear a collar and…" she trailed off and wrapped her arms around his neck, having to stand on her toes to do so. "He made me think I'd never see you again."

"Was this a friend of yours, vampire?" Sabin asked, furious golden eyes snapping up to Isaac.

Accalia sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Daniel." She spat, "He said his name was Daniel."

My attention snapped to Isaac who had gone very still. Sanura watched him a long moment, looking shocked, then reached out to touch his shoulder, but he jerked away.

"If that is all Mr. Lykaios, we will be going." Isaac's voice was far too calm to match the hint of expression I could translate. "I trust from now on that you will keep your dogs off of our land. The next time I fear will not work out as smoothly as this one."

"I understand." Malachi smiled tightly, "As I'm sure you know the same applies to your people. I hope this will be the last time we are forced to endure each other's company."

Isaac nodded and turned on his heal, tracing from the room. Sanura stared after him a long moment, then put on a smile for me and took my hand. I was walked from the room, paused briefly so that Sanura could wink at Rendall and grin at the soft growl he gave in response, and then we were hurrying from the house. They had brought the car this time, and Isaac was pacing beside the driver's side door. When he saw us, he stopped and motioned that we move faster, apparently eager to be rid of this place.

"So Daniel's here?" I asked Sanura as she lead me to the back door. "Is that a bad thing?"

Isaac shot me a sharp glance but Sanura was kind enough to answer me.

"It means he's back in the states." She looked pointedly at Isaac, "That's _all_ it means."

"Just get in the car." Isaac snapped.

Deciding it was best to leave it at that while he was in such a mood, I sighed and opened the door. As I was about to get in however, someone called my name. I looked back to the large house to find Sabin jogging through the lawn. I cast a quick glance in Isaac's direction to see that he was watching the werewolf as if he wanted to tear him apart. Sabin ignored this and grinned at the muttering Sanura as she slid into the car before turning his charming smile on me.

"You were really going to leave without so much as a goodbye?" He tsked, "How rude of you."

I shrugged, "Well you looked like you had your hands full, so…"

"Cali's having a nice stern talking to from Malachi, so I've got some time before she attacks me again." He laughed, "That woman keeps me on my toes."

"I saw that." I said.

"_Mira_." Isaac snapped to hurry this along. His temper was nearing its limit, but Sabin only shot him an irritated glance and stepped closer to me, taking my hand.

"So it seems I'm never going to see you again." He said slowly, ignoring Isaac's heavy stare. I wish I could do the same. "I'd ask for your number if I wasn't sure this stick in the mud wouldn't screen my calls." He nodded toward Isaac. "That being said, I suppose the only thing I can leave you with is this."

I knew it was coming, but didn't have time to stop him before he'd jerked me into his arms and kissed me. I went stiff, eyes wide, completely at a loss as to what I should do and then he was pulling back. He grinned at my no doubt flabbergasted expression and the homicidal glare he was getting from Isaac now. From her place in the car Sanura groaned and rested her head in her hand.

Sabin tucked my hair behind my ear, never losing his smile and shrugged. I had a sneaking suspicion he'd done it just to fuck with Isaac, and despite the shit I would undoubtedly get for it, I had to admit I admired his fearlessness. Openly kissing me in front of my vampire companion? In my book it took guts.

"Why don't you go back to your wife, Sabin." I said, fighting back my smile with everything I had.

"I trust that if you're ever in Texas again, I'll hear from you."

"Goodbye, Sabin." I said pointedly, but the laughter in m voice gave him his answer.

The werewolf nodded, glancing once more at Isaac and quirking a mocking brow before he turned and jogged back up to the house. In the silence that followed his disappearance, I cleared my throat and snuck a glance of my own at the vampire, finding that he was watching me with an expression that made me a wee bit nervous.

"Kitten, just get into the car." Sanura sighed heavily and I nodded, joining her in the back since there was no way in hell I would sit up front with the moody vampire.

Isaac got into the car without a word and started it up with a little more force than necessary, but I wasn't going to comment on it. Instead, I sat quietly, head down and pretended as if I could feel the looks of both vampires as we drove down the gravel road through the tree and finally off of the wolves' property.

Isaac was driving fast, which I had learned he did when irritated, so I remained quiet for most of the drive. He didn't turn on the radio and Sanura wasn't talking either, so the silence became oppressive rather quickly. Eventually I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to break the quiet.

"He was fucking with you." I murmured, clearing my throat to give my voice volume. Beside me, Sanura shook her head that this was a bad idea, but I ignored it. "I didn't sleep with him." Isaac didn't reply or even acknowledge the fact that I'd spoken, but his grip on the wheel tightened.

"Not that you should care anyway, since apparently you've moved on. I'm just letting you know."

Sanura sighed, and touched my arm gently, "Kitten, this isn't helping."

I frowned and motioned harshly up at Isaac. "I would just like him to act like an adult for once instead of a big baby. I mean, Jesus, Isaac either you hate me or you don't make up your mind. This shouldn't even be a problem. We're never going back there anyway right?"

"Was that what you told yourself while you were playing with your new friends?" He surprised me by replying. I'd been set on talking until I pissed him off enough to say something, but hadn't expected it to happen this quickly.

"Playing?" I asked, arching a brow.

He gave a tight smile and shrugged, as the car jumped up a few more miles per hour. "Well I was trying to put it politely, but if you would prefer I called it fucking…"

"I didn't fuck anybody!" I exclaimed.

"Heavy petting than, however you'd like to put it." He gave a short, humorless laugh, "Really Mira, the least you can do is be honest with yourself. It isn't like I can't smell them all over you."

"I was surrounded by wolves, Isaac, I'm going to smell like them."

He sighed, turning onto the main highway that would lead us back to the hotel. Sanura gave me a pitying look but cleared her throat.

"Sweetie, it isn't your clothes that smell, it's your skin." Then she shot Isaac a glare in the rearview mirror where he was watching us, "Not that it's any of his business anyway."

I didn't respond, in fact I closed my arms around myself and stared down at the floorboard of the car. I knew what they smelled, and it wasn't from a wild night in a wolf orgy. It was Tate and his rat friend Willem. For a moment, I felt sick, and when I glanced up, Isaac was frowning at me in the mirror. I looked down, reaching up to adjust my turtleneck without thinking.

Isaac took my silence for defeat and thankfully flicked on the radio. I listened to Sanura sing under her breath a moment, starring blindly out the window. After a while though, holding myself was not enough and I leaned over to the singing vampire. She smiled to herself and wrapped an arm around me, then continued singing along with _Killing Me Softly_. I must have had some sort of strange expression on my face because I saw Isaac glance up into the rearview and frown when he saw me, though he never commented. And so, the rest of the ride passed in near silence.

Once we'd gotten to the hotel Sanura began digging through her bags, claiming she needed something flashy to catch her diner tonight. Isaac smiled at this jumping back onto the bed and resting his hands beneath his head. While Sanura went to the bathroom to fix her hair, I decided to get readying for sleep. I wasn't tired, but sleeping sounded better than sitting around and letting Isaac glare at me every time I caught his attention. I didn't even have the drive to tell him how much of a baby he was being about this. The turtleneck was starting to really big me by now, so I kept finding myself adjusting it while I dug for a nightshirt. Isaac must have spotted my bruise because from the bed he chuckled.

"One of your new dog friends get a little too rough?" he asked, mistaking it for passion wounds. I didn't reply, just pulled the neck back over my skin and focused on my bag. Unfortunately, this seemed to peak his interest. "No need to be ashamed, love. Everyone get their whore on every once and a while."

"I'm not a whore." I snapped before I could stop myself, and to my dismay my voice had wavered with emotion. Suddenly Sanura wasn't fixing her hair anymore. She stood in the bathroom door and watched me, glancing meaningfully at Isaac who seemed just as interested in my reaction. He sat up on the bed, titling his head at me, but I cleared my throat and blindly dug through my bag.

"I don't think that was a hickey, Isaac." Sanura murmured and suddenly Isaac was behind me.

I tried to push him away before he could grab my shirt, but the vampire was not easily discouraged. He yanked down the neck of my shirt and his eyes went wide a moment as he saw the full bruise. Sanura looked very much like a worried mother.

"What the hell is that?" Isaac asked, grabbing my arm when I tried to move away from him.

"It's nothing." I saidm but he only laughed harshly and looked at Sanura.

"What did they do to you Kitten?" she asked, trying to sound kind, but I could hear the note of anger in her tone. Isaac didn't even attempt to hide it. He was pissed, and while this was flattering, it was also not good.

"I'm fine, really. Two of the wolves cornered me while I was alone, but they got theirs, so it's not a big deal."

"What did they do?" Isaac asked, his voice slowly slipping into the soft grey thing that meant danger.

I stared at him a long moment then glared at the ground. "Apparently something about my smell drives them a little crazy. Most of the wolves ignored it, but these two… they just scared me a little, that's all. Got a little handsy."

"You smell like antiseptic and blood, Mira. A minute ago I was willing to pass that off as your being to clumsiest human I've ever laid eyes on, but now…"

"What did they do to you?" Sanura demanded.

When I shook my head, Isaac shoved my shoulder, making me fall back against the wall and grabbed my shirt, searching for other wounds. When he'd exposed the gashes I heard Sanura let out a soft hiss of anger.

"Define _handsy_." Isaac said, his blue and green eyes were slowly darkening to black, while Sanura had already gotten there.

"They…well," I swallowed, unable to meet his eyes anymore now that his pupils had consumed them, "They said I was a vamp-whore and tried to…" I shook away the image, "It's fine though, Sabin and Rendall took care of them. I even got to beat on one of them."

This was meant to placate the angry vampires, but neither seemed to have heard me passed my implication of rape. Isaac's hold on my shoulder had become uncomfortably tight and Sanura snapped her brush in half.

"What did they look like?" Isaac demanded, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him.

"No Isaac." I said. If he went back looking for a fight he would get hurt. Maybe he'd take out a few, but there were too many wolves for even him to handle.

"Then I'll rip them all apart." He said and pulled away turning for the door.

I shot forward wrapping my arms around his back and holding tightly. "Please!" I cried, "Don't be stupid."

"I'm being stupid?" he laughed harshly and pulled from my grasp. "You tell me these dogs tried to_ rape_ you and _I'm_ being stupid?"

"Just…" I hung my head, "It's over, ok? They were punished and I'm fine now. Just let it go."

"Are they alive?" Sanura asked. When I nodded she hissed, "Then they weren't punished harshly enough."

"Why didn't you call him?" Isaac demanded, "Why the hell didn't you get out of there?"

"I did." I muttered, feeling a swell of anger toward the god who claimed he would protect me. "He didn't answer."

Sanura cursed furiously and move for the door. When I stared to object however, she held up a hand. "I'm going out to find something to eat." Then she fixed Isaac with a stare, "You don't leave her alone." He nodded and she was gone, leaving her next curse behind.

The hotel room lapsed into silence as I fixed my shirt and Isaac moved back to the bed, jaw clenched and fists at his sides. When it was clear that he needed a little time to calm down I went to the bathroom claiming I needed a shower.

Maybe there was something wrong with me, but the fact that he was so enraged by this actually made me feel better. In fact I found myself smiling as I slowly stripped and wrapped myself in a towel, turning on the shower. I needed to get my priorities straight, sure but this was proof that he didn't really hate me, he had just been hurting. Like a child, Isaac lashed out rather than admit to his feelings and that filled me with warmth that eliminated the sickness of my memories of Taint. Fuck him, and fuck Willem. I was fine, and what's more I might not have to leave Isaac at all.

This gave me a terrible and wonderfully stupid idea.

"Isaac, I need a towel." I called through the door, hoping like hell he had listened to Sanura and was still there. At the very least, if this worked I could make sure he stayed.

The old Isaac would have used this opportunity to throw open the door and make me as uncomfortably as possible, but now the bathroom door cracked open and the towel dropped to the floor at my feet. I sighed and grabbed his wrist before he could retract it, dragging him into the bathroom and moving myself between him and the door.

The vampire scowled, taking me in and then glancing around in confusion. "What are you doing?" he asked, not bothering to cover his irritation.

"Getting you to talk to me." I replied slowly. He arched a brow.

"What, is your nudity supposed to keep me interested?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry love, that ship has-"

I grabbed the lapels of his button-down shirt and dragged him into a kiss. So startled was he by this, that he didn't even pull away. In fact, his eyes went wide and he just froze until I pulled back. His eyes weren't black anymore, and that was at least a good sign.

"I'm not trying to tease you, and this isn't some sort of trick, so just shut up and listen, alright?" he only stared at me, patchwork eyes gleaming in confusion.

"I know that you're angry at me, I know what I did was…" I paused, hating that I had to admit this, but knowing it was necessary, "childish. I was being a coward, and I know now that I used Cern to replace you. I don't really care about him and-"

"Stop." He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes, "If this is the part where you tell me you love me, I'd really rather be elsewhere."

I scowled at him, still clinging to his shirtfront. "No Isaac, this is the part where I tell you to shut the fuck up and listen to me for once."

The vampire laughed incredulously, and shook his head. "Sorry, babe, I have better things to do then share feelings." He swatted my hands from his shirt, smoothing it back down, and moved to get around me, but I backed up against the door, blocking his path. He stared me down a moment, and when it became clear that I wasn't going to move, his smile became dangerous.

"Mira," his voice was a threatening silky calm, "Get out of my way, or I will move you."

"No." I snapped, "Damnit, just give me two seconds, you fuck. What is so hard about that? You're being a baby!"

He scoffed stepping away to pinch the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. "Alright, Mira I'm a baby. Now get the hell out of my way."

"Not until you let me say this." But he was done listening apparently, and reached out, grabbing me under my arms and lifting me up off my feet to place me next to the door. I tried to block it again, but he planted a hand on my sternum that kept me in place. As he turned the knob however I grabbed his wrist with both hands, and tugged with everything I could muster.

Thankfully he hadn't expected it, and I managed to pull him off balance and the pair of us tumbled through the shower curtain and into the hot stream of water. In the struggle that followed, I managed to climb on top of him and straddle his waist, pinning both his shoulders down against the tile for all the good it would do.

"Jesus fucking Christ Mira, what is _wrong_ with you?" he demanded, but I scowled down at him and refused to budge.

"_Listen_ to me mother fucker!" I yelled, and his brows rose in humor. I'm sure he was gearing to insult me, but I beat him to the punch.

"I know you don't love me Isaac, I don't think you can, and I know that I piss you off more often than not," his humor melted and he started to push me off, but I shoved him back onto the tile, hurrying to finish before he could run away, knowing I would never get this chance again if he knew it was coming.

"But I also know that I hurt you when I ran away, and that wouldn't happen if you didn't care about me, in your own twisted way. You were furious tonight when you heard about those wolves attacking me. Killing them would have started a war, and even if it didn't there were too many of them for even _you_ to handle, but you didn't care. You wanted to protect me, to avenge me, and thinking back it isn't the first time. You hide behind all this hostility because you think I'm convinced it's all you're capable of, but I know that you feel for me, in some way."

The vampire's hands closed around my wrists and he bent them back until I hissed, pulling away instinctually. He began to lift himself from the tub, despite my being on top of him but I couldn't let him leave.

"You terrify me Isaac, I can't lie about that. Sometimes when you're angry all I can picture is what you did to my friends and it scares the shit out of me, but I know you aren't going to hurt me like that. Not anymore."

"You're wrong." He snarled, but he wasn't pushing me anymore.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change anything. You _do_ care about me Isaac, and I…" I swallowed passed the growing lump in my throat, "I'm ready to admit that I care about you too."

He let his head fall back against the tile with a thunk, closing his eyes against the raining hot water and groaned. "Please stop. This isn't even irritating anymore, it's just uncomfortable."

"Cern doesn't give a damn about me, Isaac, he wants me because he thinks I'm special. I realize that."

"And what makes you think I don't want you for the same thing? I'm a vampire after all, we tend to collect things that benefit us." He didn't open his eyes, but maybe that's because he couldn't have said that with a straight face if he was looking at me. Then again, he'd never had problems lying to me before.

I sighed, hanging my head and pulling my wrists from his grip. He let them go easily enough and I rested them on the tile on either side of his head. Maybe I was the only one ready to open up here, maybe he never would, but I could hope.

At the very least I could do _other_ things.

"I guess I'll have to take that chance." I replied to his short laugh, and then reached down to his soaked black shirt, pulling the first button from its loop. When I'd gotten to the third, he was frowning and finally looked up at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly, glancing between me and my hands as I quickly unbuttoned his shirt.

I shrugged, "That was the part where we share feelings, but you refused so I'm moving on."

"To what exactly?"

"To the part where I seduce you." He arched a brow, staring at me as if he didn't believe what he'd heard, and I continued, pulling open his shirt and trailing my fingers down his tightly sculpted chest. "I was going to wait until we got back to your place, seeing as we're in this disgusting hotel room, but then you got all wet." I smiled mischievously, "I've never seen you sweat, and judging from this I really should have."

"I don't sweat." He replied, still utterly flabbergasted. It was actually rather adorable.

I shrugged, exploring the taught lines of his abdomen, "Well, then I'll have to follow you around with a spray bottle or something."

Isaac, propped himself up on his elbows, frowning. "Did you hit your head? Should I be calling someone? A psych ward perhaps?"

I sat up, readjusting my towel and laughed. "You know I think it has something to do with the wolves. Apparently they pour pheromones into the air more than you do. I've been a little twitchy all day."

"Mhmm." He nodded, but seemed unconvinced. "And you've just suddenly decided to fuck me?"

I frowned at that, "Well, I wouldn't put it that bluntly, but yes." I tilted my head and giggled, I just couldn't help myself. This wasn't going the way I'd expected. "Are you saying you don't want me to, or would you rather do the seducing? You're better at it than me."

The vampire finally smirked, looking down at my hands where I was exploring his chest again, and shrugged. "You're doing alright."

I grinned, feeling a swell of pride at that, being that this was my first time at such an endeavor. Then, with a new feeling of determination, I bent down kissing a trail down his chest. He watched me in silence, a tiny smile on his lips, and the intensity in his eyes made me nervous. I doubted myself, but tried to stuff it down, telling myself that it didn't matter that he had been with countless women before me who undoubtedly knew what to do in this instance.

The thought made my stomach roll, and I tried not to meet his eyes.

I snuck a glance up at him, to find that he was frowning again, his eyes on my throat and when I pulled back, he reached up to brush his fingers over the bruise.

"You can't really want to do this, Mira." He murmured, "Not now."

I took his hand drawing his fingertip into my mouth a moment. "I'm not going to let them ruin me. If anything you'd be making it better."

Then the world shifted, all too suddenly, and I found myself pressed back against the tile wall, my wrists pinned beneath his hand up above my head. It took me a moment to reorient myself, and by then he was smirking again, leaning in to brush a kiss against the corner of my mouth, then my jaw. He stopped at my ear drawing the lobe between his teeth and biting just hard enough that it sent a shiver down my spine.

"Well when you put it that way…" he smirked, "Mind if I take the reins?"

My voice was breathier than I'd intended, but I couldn't help it. "By all means."

He chuckled, moving his kisses to my throat and then pulling back to look me over. By now, my towel was a soggy second skin. Barely clinging on to me, but it didn't for long. He reached out with his free hand, peeling the material away and tossing it across the bathroom onto the floor. Instinctively my knees snapped together, and he paused to meet my eyes. His hand rested against my knee, gently urging them back apart, and I allowed it, fighting my nerves. I couldn't however stop the embarrassed blush that heated my cheeks when his patchwork eyes trailed down to inspect me. When he met my eyes again, he smirked at the sight of it, lifting my knee and hooking it over the rim of the bathtub.

His long, slender fingers, trailed up my thigh, teasingly, and he watched my reactions with more amusement than I might have liked, then very suddenly, he'd released my wrists and grabbed my waist pulling me down onto my back on the tile and reaching behind him to turn off the shower spray.

"First of all, no water, "he said, he sat back on his knees, my legs spread on either side of him and pulled off his shirt. "Lubrication goes right out the window." He twisted the material, ringing the water from it and leaning forward to take my wrists again. Before I could make out my protest he was talking again, wrapping the wet shirt around my wrists and securing them together.

"Don't get me wrong, fun can still be had, but I'm curious as to how much you like this." He placed my bound wrists above my head again, tilting his head to regard me with a very frightening and yet incredibly appealing smile, "How can I do that if I can't get you wet?"

"I get the feeling that I've just gotten myself into more than I'd thought."

Isaac chuckled, giving me a brief nod, "You did. I'm still a bit angry with you Mira, but I know how you can make it up to me."

"Oh?" I asked nervously, squirming a bit beneath him. He nodded trailing his fingers down between my breasts, and continuing lower. He didn't stop until they'd slipped between my legs and then I sucked in a startled breath when they found my clit. "H-how's that?"

The vampire smirked leaning down to search my eyes. "You're going to do everything I ask you to, without question," and here his humor melted, "And if you so much as utter the first syllable of that bastards name, for _any_ reason-"

I nodded frantically, "Agreed."

He arched a brow, then smiled again, slow and wicked. "Good, then tell me, how does this feel?"

I was having a little trouble focusing my thoughts beyond his fingers and the electric vibrations of feeling they were sending through me. "H-how does what feel?"

He didn't respond, just cocked his head to the side, regarding me patiently, and his touch picked up its pace. I sucked in another breath to steady my voice, though it didn't do much good, realizing what he'd meant and feeling a wave of embarrassment, "Isaac I can't-"

He sighed, leaning down to draw my nipple into my mouth, shocking it with his teeth, "Already breaking your word?" he murmured into my skin, "You aren't off to a very promising start, love."

"Isaac…" I began, trailing off when he pushed himself up to stare down at me with mild irritation.

"If you don't answer the question, I'll stop. Those are the rules."

I frowned at this, even though I knew there was no way I wanted him to stop. "You're teasing me." I grumbled, "Making me uncomfortable on purpose."

He smirked, nodding slightly, "I am. And you're stalling. _Answer_ the _question_."

I let my head thunk against the tile with a groan, "_Fuck_, alright."

"Without the lip, if you wouldn't mind."

My eyes narrowed. "It feels good." I resisted the urge to tack on a biting, _you fuck_.

He raised both brows, and I was forced to quiet myself by biting my lip when the first finger slipped inside of me. "Only good?"

My frustration was hard to keep in check, while he continued to tease my clit. The sensation was growing in intensity, becoming almost too much, and I was barely able to speak, let alone provide him the answer he wanted.

"Fantastic." I finally hissed, closing my eyes, "It feels fantastic."

He smiled, far to amused by my difficulty with this. "Wonderful. And this?" Another finger slipped inside of me, working with the other, until I arched up, unable to stop myself, and his teeth closed over the scar from his bite on my throat.

He'd played on my scar before, but never like this, and my head spun at the sudden roar of sensation that flooded through me. It felt as if wicked electric devils were dancing just beneath my skin, they lit me on fire and the feeling of his fingers became so intense that I let out an unintentional moan.

When he pulled back, regarding me with a cool smile, I was panting, my chest heaving up and down beneath him. "I suppose that is answer enough."

Isaac's fingers slipped away to my soft cry of indignation, but he hushed me with a kiss, nipping my lip and he sat up again. Soon after he grabbed the cloth knotted around my wrists and dragged me up as well, looping my arms around his neck so that I remained there. He reached out behind me, bracing us against the wall, while his free hand went between us.

The feeling of his almost bite had not vanished. The echoes of sensation continued even after he had stopped touching me, but without him they only made me ache. I used the cloth to pull myself closer against him, pressing us together and kissed him with everything I had. He chuckled against my mouth, but didn't stop me and slowly I moved my kisses to his throat. On a whim I closed my teeth over his flesh and bit down hard, knowing I couldn't really hurt him.

The vampire sucked in a breath and his fingers knotted in my hair, forcing back my head and claiming my mouth so possessively it made my head spin. He'd unfastened his jeans while I busied myself, and now I felt the brush of his cock on my inner thigh. At first this was a little startling. Yes I wanted him, and yes I was ready for this, but it had all just become stunningly real. He didn't enter me at first. Isaac was still set in his teasing. Instead he stroked himself along my slit, moving slowly, making my quiver.

"Isaac, "I breathed against his mouth, "_please_."

And he grinned, wicked as the devil. "_That's_ what I was waiting for." He said, before, _finally_ he pushed into me.

Even then he tormented me, giving me only an inch, before withdrawing and starting again. Then it was two, and then three. Each time he gave me a little more, but pulled back before I could really enjoy the feel of him. I couldn't take it, and I tried to hurry him along, pushing down against his cock, but with a chuckle, he retreated completely.

"Be still." He murmured against my throat, and once again I felt his teeth on my scar. Once again my skin was lighting up like I'd swallowed a lightning bolt, and my forehead fell against his shoulder. I moaned loudly when he pushed into me again. Starting slow, continuing to tease me.

This was my punishment, to have him, but gradually. On his terms, and they were nearly impossible to take. I trembled against him, my breath coming soft and shallow, and his coming hardly at all. My fists had clenched tightly in their bindings, fighting the urge to struggle for freedom. I had the feeling that if I tried he would stop again, and I couldn't allow that. Not when his pace was increasing, and each thrust built on the pulse of my scar, lighting up beneath my skin until I felt blinded by him. I closed my eyes, in an attempt to quiet the soft bursts of sound coming from me, but he shook his head, his fingers in my hair again so he could search my face.

"Let me hear you." He ordered, and his tone left no room for question. I let go then, forgetting my embarrassment and letting my moans come freely. They rose in volume the faster he went and my head fell back, spinning again. The vampire cradled it in his hand, shifting my hair from my shoulder, and drawing at the scar there. Blood rushed eagerly to the surface, pulsing with my heart and his thrusts. I felt a sharp sudden pain as he grew his fangs, his eyes bleeding to black and glimmering in the harsh florescent lights, and then he sank them into me and the feeling was as if I'd burst.

I gave a sudden cry, strangled by pleasure, as the sensation rebounded within me, filling me to the tips of my fingers and toes. Everything tingled, everything pulsed and I felt myself constrict around him until finally Isaac shuddered as well, though he continued to draw at my throat. I didn't try to stop him, too lost in the feeling, because the more he took, the better my body responded.

I was floating when he finally pulled back, licking his lips and resting us back against the wall of the shower. Weak, and spinning, but also completely and utterly satisfied. It was strange to be the only one panting, but at the moment I couldn't make myself care and rested my forehead against his still chest.

After a few moments, he lifted my arms up and away from his neck, quickly tugging the knots in his shirt free and giving me back the use of my hands. I stretched my fingers, working out the tingles from lack of blood flow and started to stand, but Isaac wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me back down to straddle his lap.

"Where are you going?" he asked slowly, arching a brow. His eyes had since returned to their beautiful jeweled tones and for a moment I couldn't answer, too lost in them.

"I'm not really sure." I admitted. My heart was thumping wildly in my chest, like a rabbit's and I had yet to calm my breathing. Isaac ran his fingers through my hair, closing his fist in it and holding me in place with a smirk.

"The correct answer is, nowhere, sir."

I scoffed, arching a brow. "Bite me."

He grinned, his forefinger brushing the sensitive wound and briefly lighting it up again. I sucked in a breath, not knowing whether I could take that at the moment.

"I _did_ that." He said, stroking my bottom lip with his thumb. "You loved it."

I drew the digit into my mouth, confirmation enough, and grinned, "Well, then if I'm not leaving. What _am_ I doing?"

Isaac smirked, and tossed his head back toward the shower head. "Turn on the water."

I sat up on my knees, reaching behind him and closing my eyes in pleasure when he took the opportunity to tease my breast with his tongue. The water shot down at us, cold at first, but quickly heating. He didn't let me sit down at first, too busy drawing at my nipple, but I was happy enough to let him. After a few moments, he sighed and settled me back down, reaching out to grab the tiny bottle of body wash from the back of the toilet. While I stared at it in confusion, he grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in the warm water.

"Can I ask what this is for?" I arched a brow, taking the cloth as well, and the vampire chuckled.

"I haven't finished playing with you yet, "he replied with a smirk, "but I didn't have the self control to do this before."

"What exactly do you want me to do?" I asked skeptically and he laughed, lifting me up and standing as well.

"Don't worry, love, it's nothing extreme. I just want you to wash yourself. That's all."

"Mhmm." I tried to read the truth in his expression, but got nowhere.

Meanwhile, the vampire was refastening his soaked jeans. He stepped out of the shower, pushing the half ruined curtain to the side and then sat down on the closed toilet seat, propping his boots on the side of the tub. I watched this with growing anxiety, knowing there would be more to this than he was letting on. I just hoped it wasn't something too humiliating.

"Stand under the water a minute." He said, bracing his forearms against his thighs and settling in to watch me. I did so slowly, feeling more than a little awkward about the whole thing. When I was adequately soaked again, Isaac tossed his head to the side.

"Step out of the water and put a little soap on the cloth." Taking a slow breath, I did this too. "Lather it up a little and start washing."

"Wash how exactly?" I asked, the man had just been inside of me not two minutes ago, but somehow this seemed more intimate, and I was sure he knew that. He was still punishing me.

"You act as if you've never taken a shower before."

"Not with someone staring at me I haven't."

He titled his head, enjoying my awkwardness, "Do you think the process changes?"

Obviously, he wasn't going to give me a straight answer, so I frowned, and moved the cloth across my stomach. Isaac watched the soapsuds as they gathered across my skin, and sat back, bracing himself against the sink counter.

"Wash your breasts. Start with the outside and work your way in."

I paused, my heart beginning to pound, and he arched a challenging brow, waiting for me to comply. After a moment, I did, lathering the soap around the bottom of my breasts, hurrying through the process, but of course he called me on it.

"Slow down." He chuckled, "Take your time."

I grit my teeth, beginning to tremble again, and did as he commanded, first with one breast then the other, working the lather into a thick froth on my skin. He watched this in silence and the intensity slowly returned to his eyes.

"Focus on your nipple." He interjected suddenly when I'd begun the process again. "I want them hard."

My brow furrowed, but I didn't object. Instead I teased my nipple with the soapy cloth until he nodded in satisfaction, and moved to the other. When I'd finished, he nodded again.

"Good girl, now, wash your thighs."

I had to take a few deep breaths to steady myself, but it didn't keep my hands from shaking as I soaped my thighs. Isaac watched this a while, offering short directions here and there, scolding me when I stopped. This all reminded me of the night with Daliah, when he'd slipped on his domination mask and managed to turn me on even as he treated the two of us like dogs. The same was true now, and while I was trembling and nervous and embarrassed as hell at this situation, I couldn't deny that it excited me. His cool reserved tone, the way he watched me with such unwavering focus, even the casual position in which he sat added to the effect. And then he upped the stakes.

"Spread you legs a little, Mira and use the cloth to touch yourself."

"What?" I went still, clutching the cloth to my chest as if it would protect me, but the vampire only watched me.

"Should I repeat myself, or were you hoping you heard me wrong?"

"Isaac I don't know if I can…"

"Of course you can." He interrupted, "the question is, are you willing?"

I couldn't meet his eyes, but that apparently wasn't acceptable, because suddenly, in a tone that slashed outwards and made me jump, he snapped.

"_Look at me_." Slowly, I forced myself to obey and he gazed at me unflinchingly. "Now, you're a big girl, Mira. So act like one."

My next breath came in a shudder and I blinked away a stray tear of humiliation. He was pushing me, on purpose, asking me to do the thing he knew would make me squirm, and loving every minute of it.

"Yes sir." I murmured, and watched the satisfied smile curl in the corners of his mouth.

Slowly, feeling as if I would die from the shame, I did as he'd instructed, spreading my legs and slipping the cloth between them. The sensation was immediate and intensified by the fact that he was watching it happen. My trembling only grew worse as he slowly shifted to lean forward, watching me over his templed hands. Slowly I leaned back against the wall, quickening my pace, but he cleared his throat giving a shake of his head.

"If you come before I tell you to I'll make you start over."

This remark sent a shudder of pleasure and shame through me and I breathed a quick "_Jesus_." Isaac smirked at my reaction, but the smile faded quickly and he was back to watching me in his focused empty way.

This went on for several minutes. He watched me masturbate, interjecting here and there when he wanted me to change my speed or add more soup to the cloth. After a while, my body was shaking so badly I had to brace myself against the wall again, gripping the shower curtain above my head. When I was to the point that I knew I would finish at any moment, Isaac suddenly sat back again.

"Loose the cloth and rinse the soap off your body."

I shook my head, squeezing my thighs together and feeling as if I were going to explode right there. Pleading had worked before, so I tried it, "Please, Isaac, I need to-"

"I know exactly what you need, but I've already _told_ you, you'll wait until I give you permission. Now do as I instructed, or you won't get it at all."

My jaw dropped at this, and I was frozen by the harshness of his tone, the snap of ice in his eyes. However, I fear what would happen if I disobeyed him, and quickly dropped the washcloth and stepped under the water. When the last of the soap suds had made their lazy trails down my body, he met my eyes, making me feel small and aroused all at once.

"Come here."

I hurried out of the tub, letting the vampire turn me around a pull me back against his chest. My blood had given him warmth and color, adding to the wonderful sight of him, but I wasn't given much time to admire it. Isaac quickly ordered me to hook my knees outside his legs, forcing me to spread myself wide, then I was told to clasp my hands behind his neck, so that my breasts stood out on my chest. He reached out to tilt up my chin and kiss me, while his free hand slipped between my legs to torment me. From our position, I could see myself in the full-length mirror against the opposite wall, something I'm sure he hadn't done on purpose. When he'd finished kissing me, his fingers slipped around my throat, though he was careful of my bruise, and he worked me until I whimpered for him.

"I suppose you imagined fucking me would make me more agreeable." He began, stroking me to the point of release and stopping, only to repeat the process over and over again. It was driving me crazy, making me burn. I clenched my fists together behind his neck, fight to keep myself in check.

"Unfortunately for you, love, sex brings out the worst in me. I just get this overwhelming urge to _submit_ you, and, being that you haven't been the nicest to me lately, I couldn't hold it back." He chuckled, nipping my ear, "You don't really seem to mind though. That surprised me a bit." I moaned, head falling back against his shoulder as he worked me to the point of orgasm again, only to leave me moments from finish. My hips moved of their own volition, arching up to meet his fingers, but Isaac tsk'ed, shaking his head.

"_Be still_." He ordered and I whimpered in the agony of it all.

"Isaac, I can't…you have to-"

"Hush." He snapped, and the ice in his tone made me shrink back. Moments later he was grinning down at me again. "Now, I can only assume this all came up because I told you to leave." He chuckled, turning my head to search my eyes. "Do you really want to stay with me that badly?"

I blushed hotly, turning my eyes down, but his fingers tightened slightly around my throat, his eyes narrowing.

"I can't hear you, Mira."

"Y-yes." I admitted, wanting to close my eyes, but knowing he wouldn't allow it. He was angry with me after what I'd done with Cern. I'd humiliated him, so he would humiliate me. Honestly, it was fair. And a tiny voice inside me whispered that though it was all very new and frightening, this whole experience was _incredibly_ arousing. He worked a finger inside of me, but I was so slick and ready to come, that I hardly felt it, so he added another.

"And will you _ever_ run away from me again?"

I shook my head frantically, but he didn't accept it.

"_What_ was that?" he grinned maliciously, "Use your words."

"No, sir." I managed to respond hoarsely.

Isaac nodded, releasing my throat, "then I suppose you've earned the right to finish."

Not seconds after he said this, did it happen, and the force with which my orgasm hit me, left me gasping and dizzy. I cried out, riding out the wave as he continued to work me, until I was left panting and throbbing against him. I felt as if my entire body was worn, exhausted, and incapable of movement, and when Isaac moved to stand, I groaned and fell back against the toilet.

The vampire chuckled, and turned off the shower, then scooped me up into his arms. He carried me back into the main room and lay me down gently on the bed, tugging down the blankets to tuck me in. I simply rolled with it, feeling as if I had no control over my body anyway, and still clinging to the last echoes of my orgasm.

"It's back to the road, tomorrow night, Mira," Isaac was saying, "So try and get some sleep."

"That isn't going to be a problem." I said slowly, letting my head roll to the side so I could watch him. He moved back into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door and stripped off his soaked jeans, hanging them over the shower curtain rod. As he was moving back into the room, and tossed his boots into the corner, the front door opened and Sanura sauntered in, looking well fed and satisfied.

She noticed the naked Isaac, but rather than gawking or turning away she simply gave him a quick appreciative scan and passed him on her way to the bathroom. Isaac was equally unfazed by her presence and moved to slide the chain lock into place on the door and turn up the AC for my benefit. From the bathroom, Sanura cursed in Italian.

"Could you have gotten anymore water on the floor? Jesus!" she went into another string of curses, then appeared back into the room, switching off the bathroom light. "Were you practicing your water sports?"

Isaac smirked jumping back onto the bed and pulling the comforter over himself. "In a manner of speaking."

Sanura rolled her eyes and quickly began to undress. Apparently everyone here felt it was sleep in the nude night. I think that the only reason I wasn't melting in my shame was that I just didn't have the energy for it.

Beside me, well over on the other side of the bed, Isaac had settled in with his arm tucked back behind his head. He watched Sanura a moment or too, but must have gotten bored, or had seen it too often, because he closed his eyes and seemed to still as if dead.

I watched him, reminding myself that it was ok that he wasn't breathing and after the room had quieted and Sanura had switched off the last lamp and climbed into her own bed, I wriggled myself over and curled up against the oddly warm vampire's body.

"So we're cuddling now?" he asked, and I could just imagine the arched look he was giving me at that moment.

"Don't be a dick." I grumbled.

"Not a problem, seeing as mine just shriveled and fell off at the chick flick BS it's currently being put through."

I rolled my eyes, knowing he could see it in the dark, "Then you don't have anything left to worry about, do you?"

"Mira-"

"Jesus," I exclaimed, shoving him with the little force I could muster, "All you have to do is suck it up and lay there. Stop whining."

"Woman, don't make me-"

"Alright children." Sanura cut in, in a tone that said no questions, much like the one Isaac had used on me earlier. "Momma needs her sleep, so the two of you shut it before I throw you both out."

Isaac grumbled to himself but when I settled down against him again, he didn't complain or pull away, and that was good enough for me.

* * *

**You guys wanted sex, but I never said it was going to be sweet, but really, you know this guy by now…most of him anyway, why would you think that his sex life would be any less fucked up than he is? Answer, it wouldn't be! I just couldn't help myself, take it as my compromise for letting this turn into a romance-**_**ish**_** fic. Now it's still twisted. YAY! Besides, the idea of Bondage! Isaac just wouldn't leave me alone. I'm not even sure this will be the worst of it…oh silly unhealthy kinks, one day you will be the death of me!**

**Anywho, this chapter was long and craziness ensued. You have NO IDEA how difficult it was to write that fucking sex scene. Jesus. I have like, 50 of them because I couldn't decide what I wanted them to do, how intense I wanted Isaac to get and so forth. That scene is the reason this chapter was posted so late. It got to the point where I said fuck it and posted the latest version.**

**However, I'm thinking this is just the beginning of their relationship, though it will continue to be a wee bit screwed up.**

**I'm also considering posting the original version as to how these crazy kids first got down as a plot bunny. It is COMPLETELY different and features one of my demon characters from another fic. Holy bananas who doesn't love an Incubus…besides, you know, the people they eat… **


	32. Freak Flag Fly

The hotel walls were thin in this dingy place, so when our car rumbled to life outside I sat up in bed. It took me a moment to reorient myself, to remember that when I stood up, I'd still be naked. I was alone in the room, however, so it wasn't a problem. I hurried to my bag and dug through the thing for the quickest thing I could throw on, finding a knee length dress. I tugged it on and straightened myself as I moved to the door.

Sanura was turning to look at me when I opened the door, her expression a bit tight. Isaac stepped out of the car, engine still running and looked between the two of us.

"Did I interrupt something?" I asked titling my head at the guilty looking vampires. Sanura shook her head chuckling, tension easing instantly. It was a little off-putting. Staged undoubtedly.

"We need a new car."

"Oh? And what's wrong with this one?"

Isaac appeared on my other side, making me jump back against the hotel door. Seeing this, he covered a laugh and leaned up against the wood beside me, crossing his arms.

"Is that how you're going to wake up every day on this trip? Grouchy?"

"I'm not grouchy. Just-"

"Irritable?" He smirked, cocking a brow at me. Normally this would be my cue to bite back at him and start a fight, but this time, I couldn't help but smile. Though, not willing to show a complete change, I shoved his arm.

"I wake up alone, and hear you leaving, what am I supposed to do?"

He grinned at Saunra, "You see this? She's only touchy cuz she misses me already. I _told_ you she liked me."

Sanura rolled her eyes, leaning back against the car.

"You owe me money, don't you forget." He smirked.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked, starring at him. The vampire laughed again, and suddenly his arms were on either side of my head. I was trapped up against the door while Sanura sighed and turned away to ignore us.

"Half serious." He nodded watching me fight to stay calm in my position. Not that I thought he would hurt me, I just wasn't quite used to this relationship yet. The rules had changed and I just didn't know what to expect from him anymore.

He waited while I settled down, and fought his smile when I attempted to cover my awkwardness by placing my hands up against his chest and forcing them to stop shaking. Up for three minutes and my heart was already racing again. This couldn't be good for the body.

"Quick question," he said tilting his head at me while I fingered the collar of his black jacket. "If I give you extra special attention now, will you feel better?"

I frowned at a large tear on the back of his jacket, trying to inspect it. "What kind of attention?"

He swept my hands away from his jacket, and grabbed my chin to make me look up at him. "The kind that should be taken inside," Isaac smiled devilishly kissing the corner of my mouth, "Unless you don't mind a little exhibitionism, it's really not as bad as it sounds."

"Let me get this straight," I laughed, only a little irritated by his ridiculousness. "You're asking if I'll have sex with you in front of people?"

He raised both brows, opening the door behind me and stepping us back inside. "If you want to take it there, I suppose. I didn't know that's what you were into."

I'd wrapped my arms around the back of his neck when he started moving, to hold myself up. At his comment, I frowned up at him playfully tugging his hair. "Don't get yourself excited pervert. I'm not freaky-deaky like you." I busied myself a moment in playing with the soft black hair on the back of his neck, but was distracted when I found it warm and wet.

He tried to catch my wrist before I could see it, but for once I was faster. I rubbed my fingers together, starring down at the dark red on my fingertips and trying to figure out how it had gotten there.

"You aren't hurt." I said at my fingers while the vampire dropped the pretense of flirtation and sighed heavily.

"Why must you always be difficult?" he grumbled as I stood up on my toes and prodded the place I'd touched. There was no wound, but I felt more sticky blood, and now that I was paying attention, there were speckles of it all over him, as if he'd washed off in a hurry and missed places. There was also the tear in his jacket, like something big took a swipe at him and only caught the cloth.

"What's in the car Isaac?" I asked stepping around him to move for the hotel door. Halfway there he traced in front of me and shook his head.

"You don't need to see it Mira."

"What did you do?" I asked slowly, and by the brief moment of anger in his face, I knew I'd struck a nerve. He hadn't made me forget that he was a sociopath just because he'd slept with me.

The vampire didn't answer, he simply stepped back and motioned that I could leave if I wanted, so I hurried outside before Sanura could drive away with the evidence. Thankfully when she saw me, she didn't peel out, instead with a soft groan, she cut the engine and stepped out, letting me jog toward the back doors. Isaac appeared to my right and moved as if he were going to stop me, but with one last glare his direction, I yanked open the back door and looked inside. It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing. To process that the dripping red and black and grey were the flesh of another creature. I'd seen enough of dismembered bodies to recognize one now, even as mangled as this. I stumbled back a step, hand going over my mouth to keep in the vomit that threatened me.

The man, and I was sure he was a man by his nakedness, had been split open from navel to his sternum and his insides had spilled out onto the floorboard. His intestines tangled around what was left of his arms and legs as if he'd still been struggling as they spilled out of him. One arm stretched out above him, fingers gripping the door handle, though the bone was cracked and protruding from the flesh, the skin around it black with bruising. The other arm had been shredded, the flesh and muscle ripped away from the bone. His legs too were mutilated, sitting at odd angles with splintered bits of bone pushing from the ruined flesh in multiple places. His left foot seemed to be missing completely. I was afraid to look at what was left of the face but found I couldn't help myself. Bits of bone and brain matter oozed from the empty right eye socket. The other eye was wide starring off blankly at the roof of the car, and it made my stomach tighten in knots when I saw the color.

Beady and black, even when he was dead, just like a weasel. This was _Willem_.

Isaac appeared at my side and shut the door, pulling me away from the car and back into the hotel room where we couldn't be overheard. Once we'd crossed the door however, I shoved him back and pointed at the car.

"What the **FUCK**, Isaac?" I demanded to his heavy sigh, "How could you do that?"

At this his eyes snapped up to me, his pupils swelling just a bit in his anger. "How could I _not_? What you should be asking is how I kept myself from killing the other despite Malachi's deal."

"What deal?" I asked, falling back to sit on the edge of the bed. This was bad. This was…fucked.

"He told me the promise you made." He said and very suddenly the vampire was right in front of me, going onto one knee so he could grab my jaw and look into my eyes with a frighteningly severe expression. "What the hell were you thinking? You don't owe those filthy dogs anything and yet you would _protect_ their criminals from me? Men who tried to-"

"I'm tired of people dying because of me."

Isaac looked at me, as if I spoke another language, then shook his head and stood with a scowl. "Get over it."

"What deal Isaac?" I grabbed his shirt when he tried to walk away, disgusted by the wet feel of Willem's blood. "How could you kill him without starting a war?"

"When you slept Sanura and I went to have a chat with the Alpha about what had happened to you. He seemed to know it was coming, so I can only assume he mentioned it to you."

I nodded slowly, feeling as if I were floating high above myself. Perhaps this was shock, "He asked that I-"

"Keep it to yourself so that I didn't rip his dogs limb from limb?" Isaac finished. When I nodded again, he growled, "And you _listened_? What is wrong with you?"

"With _me_?" I demanded, jabbing a thumb toward the hotel door, "What about _you_, you fucking psychopath? Killing him is one thing Isaac but _that_ was…" I closed my eyes, putting my hand up to my mouth at the first sign of vomit. I gagged once, but managed to hold everything down. Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose and growled softly.

"Damnit, woman. I _told_ you not to look." He shook his head, "If you didn't believe I would want to avenge this, you must have known that I would at least want retribution for what is mine."

"_I_ wanted to forget it ever happened." I said quickly, "But Isaac you can't-"

He pulled back looking me dead in the eyes, "I _never_ forget Mira. It is a fact of my physiology. And while I admit to having my own darker moments in the past, rape is something that I cannot abide. Not with you."

I stared at him a long time. I didn't like Willem, he was dirt and pathetic. I'd even wanted to kill him myself, but this was different. It had to be. The way his body had looked, utterly savaged, was disgusting. The reminder that Isaac enjoyed such things was also unpleasant. Then there was what he'd said, the fact that he'd done it for_ me_. Because he wanted to protect me in his own way. That the idea of a man who had hurt me was still breathing gave him a bloodlust like no other was…well not _comforting_, but something close to it.

Suddenly I felt very tired again.

"I get it." I said softly, moving to go sit in one of the wooden chairs by our tiny coffee table. "Thank you."

The vampire watched me with a frown, obviously aware that I wasn't really happy with the situation. Outside the car pulled out of the gravel parking lot and he sighed, losing his chance to flee me and my _pesky_ emotions. After a moment or two of debate, he moved to the chair opposite me and took my hand over the table. It seemed awkward for him, but part of me was enjoying his discomfort, it was a nice change.

"You won't have to think of them again, Mira." He began slowly, "After tonight, you'll never see them again._ Any_ of them." Meaning Sabin of course. Jealous fucker. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You always scare me, Isaac. " I didn't look at him, just stared at the ugly brown carpet. He stiffened and pulled his hand from mine, and feeling a bit guilty I quickly covered. "But at least that means you scare other things too. You protect me, even if I irritate you. That's more than I can say for Cern."

"What do you mean?"

I snuck a glance at him and tugged at the hem of my dress, "I called him when…when it happened. He ignored me."

"Are you sure?" he asked quickly, anger clouding his tone, "It's not a pleasant thought, but he _is_ a God Mira, he might have been busy."

I sighed, "I suppose, but he's never done that before."

Isaac shrugged, leaning back in his chair, "Maybe he got over you now that you gave it up."

I shot him a glare. "Why is that what _you're_ gunna do?"

He returned my stare with just as much acid, "I think tonight is evidence to the contrary."

"If he doesn't want me it would mean you wouldn't have to keep me safe anymore. Are you sure you wouldn't be tempted to leave me somewhere?"

"I thought I was." He snapped back.

I stood up, letting my chair crash back against the wall and stomped in front of him. "You know, you've got a funny way of showing a girl you like her."

"I never said I liked you, Mira. I said that it was obvious that you liked _me_."

"I _thought_ I did." I said slowly. The vampire laughed heatedly and leaned forward to stare up at me, his patchwork eyes gleaming with mischief.

"You do, you little brat. Even now, and I bet that irritates the shit out of you."

"You have no idea." I grumbled. Suddenly he wasn't angry anymore, or maybe I wasn't. The energy in the room changed and the way he was looking at me made my skin hot. I would have liked to say it was all his doing, but I couldn't help but admit that arguing with him was a little fun. Aggravating sure, but fun none the less. I think he knew that.

"I'm going to take a shower." I said to break the silence and turned away from him. I wanted to get out of this room before I found out what he was thinking. It couldn't have been good, and I felt awkward already. Isaac however caught my arm and tugged me back. I stumbled and landed with my knee between his legs on the chair. He tugged me once more and I fell into his lap.

The vampire looked over my face, brushing the hair from my eyes and tsk'ed softly. "You really think I'm going to let you run away now, after all the shit you put me through?" He laughed, "Hell no. You get to sleep in the bed you make from now on."

Frowning, I shifted as if I might get up, but he held me firmly in place. "That's a stupid plan."

Isaac shook his head, still grinning like an idiot. "How so? Are you saying you don't want to sleep in my bed anymore?"

I paused, speechless a moment as he shifted me to sit on the table and positioned himself between my legs. His hands were on my waist but as he leaned in to kiss my shoulder they were moving down my thighs. "I didn't mean that." I finally managed to get out and he chuckled against my skin, nipping me on the throat when he'd kissed there.

I let him have his fun, lost in sensation a while, before grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him into a kiss. The vampire smiled against my lips but didn't pull away. My hands had started exploring him, it seemed their default setting, I just liked touching him. He was hard in all the right places, his skin smoother than I would have ever guessed. I slipped my hand up under his shirt and raked my nails across his abdomen, making him hiss softly and suddenly he shot to his feet.

I fell back against the table and he kicked away his chair, wrapping a hand in my hair and pulling it tight. Once he'd forced back my head, his teeth were on my throat. He didn't break the skin, but he was aggravating the scar, sending little jolts of feeling down my spine. I moaned softly into his jacket and pulled it down his arms, tossing the thing across the room. I didn't want it touching me. When he smiled down at me I eyed his shirt, wondering if it would have to become another casualty. Buttons were against me, and Isaac seemed to favor them.

"Would you like me to do it?" he chuckled, starting at the top and working the buttons away far more quickly than I could have managed in my excitement.

I smirked tilting my head to enjoy the show, "I kinda liked ripping your clothes off. It was fun."

"Oh yeah?" he discarded his shirt and settled back over me, tucking my hair behind my ear, "Well then you can start replacing them. I _liked_ that shirt."

"Oh please, Daddy Warbucks. I think you can afford a few shirts. _I_ don't even have a job."

He grinned, "I know, you free-loader. When are you going to start pulling your weight?"

"Wanna front me a few Gs?" I asked batting my lashes. He laughed and his eyes went down my body a moment. Tilting his head, he reached out to skim his finger down my side.

"I see you've rebelled against underwear."

Propping myself up on my elbows I gave him a good looking over myself. "And I'm pretty sure you free-ball it every day. Besides, "I hooked my finger in his waistband, tugging on it idly. "I didn't have time to put any on. I thought you were running away."

"You should never have time again." He said sliding his hands up my side and dragging my dress in tow. Then he paused to grin, "Have you ever considered becoming a nudist?"

"I'm considering that shower if you don't hurry up and undress me."

Isaac arched a brow, then shrugged as if to say as you wish. Without another word, he grabbed the front of my dress and ripped it up the middle.

"Hey!" I frowned, though it was hard to keep the expression.

"Now you know how it feels." He replied simply.

I might have retorted, but suddenly he'd hooked his arms under both my knees and was lifting me up into the arm. I cried out, giggling and locked my arms behind his head as he carried me over to the bed. Isaac laid me back quickly, unbuckling his belt as he crawled onto the mattress with me. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. My free hand went to his buckle and I worked it loose so that he would be free to touch me. God I liked it when he touched me.

"You're oftly randy this evening." He commented when I'd gotten frustrated and had to take two hands to his belt, jerking the thing off and throwing it away. He caught it before it could fly off and smiled down at me in amusement. "Much more comfortable with yourself for one thing."

I glanced up at him to arch a brow before going back to getting his blasted pants away from us. It was proving to be a bitch. Had it always been this hard to undress someone?

"Are you rating my performance now?"

He stilled my hands and easily undid his jeans, "Would you like me to?"

"Hell no. I don't need to hear that I'm terrible thank you."

He laughed and shook his head, reaching out to lift my chin and kiss me into silence. "If I wasn't enjoying myself, Mira. I wouldn't be doing this right now. You're so unsure of yourself."

"Wonderful. Now I feel great."

Isaac sighed and leaned me back into the mattress, gathering my hands and closing them around the bar across the headboard. "I love it." He said, trailing his finger down to my nipple, "Everything is new to you. That means I get to make you gasp and yell, and enjoy that shocked little expression on your face when you realize you like it. I get to watch you let go, Mira and I've got to say I'm looking forward to it."

"This is not making me feel better." I muttered, wishing I didn't blush so much like a little girl.

"I didn't say it to make you feel better," he replied evenly, his fingers skimming down between my legs. I sucked in a breath when he touched me and gripped the bar above me with white knuckles. "It's the truth." He leaned in to nibble on the cusp of my ear, "You should know I plan to break you, Mira. Someone has to teach you how to let that freak flag fly."

I shuddered at the thought, doing my best not to smile so brightly, "And what is the first step in this plan?"

He chuckled pulling me into a kiss by the back of my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him reach for his belt and pull it closer, but before I could find out what he might have done with it a hor honked outside.

Isaac's smile fell a bit and he sighed, dropping the belt and sitting up. I scowled at the hotel door.

"That was fast." He said aloud, pausing a moment and chuckling to himself. "Well give us a minute." I had to assume he was talking to Sanura outside. I sat up and crawled across the bed toward my bag, enjoying the feel of Isaac's eyes on me the entire way. When I bent down to grab the bag, I made sure to do so slowly and grinned at the soft rumble of his growl behind me.

"It just sortof turned that way, love. Couldn't help it." He spoke again to Sanura while I dug for clothing. After a moment, he grunted, "And you're a bloody cock-block. We'll meet you out there in 5."

"This whole one sided conversation thing is a little strange." I commented as I pulled on some black, lacy panties. Gag gifts from Sanura on our shopping spree. "Why don't you go _outside_ and talk to her?"

He shrugged, fixing his pants and looking around for his shirt while I pulled on a matching black bra. "Well then I wouldn't get to watch you slink around like a cat in heat." He paused his search to slip an arm around my waist and pull me back against him, nipping the scar on my throat. I sucked in a breath, but thought of Sanura outside and the fact that she could hear everything in here. "I feel the proper response would be to mount you."

He was joking, the fucker, but I felt like I was under a microscope with the other vampire only a few yards away.

"Don't cats have that barb thing?"

Isaac pulled away to search my face, "Is this a concern of yours because I can assure you-"

"You can let me get dressed." I replied, standing to pull on a pair of jeans. The vampire's frown slowly curled into a wicked smile and he nodded, moving to his fallen shirt on the floor.

"_Oh-ho-ho_, she bites when she's frustrated. That's cute."

I grumbled and jerked on a teeshirt, shooting him a look that only made him laugh. The vampire traced across the room to grab the bags, but paused to stroke his thumb across my lip with a smile.

"Don't worry, precious. I'll tend to you later."

With that he'd vanished leaving the door open for me to follow. Outside Sanura arched a brow at me, leaning up against the driver's side door. When I'd gotten to the car she opened my door for me and motioned me inside.

"You better not think the two of you are going to be getting down while we're in this car. I'm not gunna drive and listen to your loud ass."

My jaw dropped and I heard Isaac laughing from behind the car where he'd just closed the trunk. He muttered something that made her laugh as well before they both got into the car and I tried to melt into the seats. When Sanura saw me in the rearview mirror she grinned, reaching back to touch my hand comfortingly.

"Don't fret, Kitten, you won't be this repressed forever. Not with this boy at your back."

"Thanks." I muttered, "That really helps."

* * *

**So it's been a while and I know this. I'm so sorry, I got a little distracted with Fright Night, but honestly it just makes me miss Isaac. However, i have to say that's one vamp flick you should see. The original kicked ass, but Colin Farrel somehow managed to be a sexy evil beast in the remake, he was such a teaser and he didn't seem to give a fuck about being cautious. **

**"Don't need an invitation if there's no house"_ Ballin_'**

** And the "Catch ya later" thing? It rocked. _Go see it._**

**So now we're back _on the road aaaaagain! _**

**Come on…you **_**know**_** you wanna know what Isaac was gunna do with that belt. :D**


	33. Movies VS Reality

The drive until now had been very routine. Isaac and Sanura switching shifts as driver between gas stations and convenient stops during daylight hours. They were merciless on me with my human bladder and need to move after hours of sitting stationary in a car. I did my best not to drink too much on the road, knowing they would not stop until they absolutely had to.

The idea had taken my thoughts away from the reason we were driving in the first place. Josep still had to be executed and Colette was enough of a bitch to demand that we all be present. I welcomed other thoughts with open arms.

"So I have a question."

Isaac turned down the radio and flipped down the visor mirror to look at me. "And that would be?"

I cleared my throat and sat forward in the back seat. "Wouldn't we cover more ground if we drove through the day?" I smiled and held up a hand, "I don't want to be the stupid girl who's stuck on the movies, but is this a _sunlight_ thing? Is that the real deal?"

I saw Sanura glance over at Isaac from the rearview mirror. She had a meaningful expression I wasn't supposed to notice and Isaac was quick to cover.

"Are we really going to have the movie versus reality talk?" he groaned, "Fucking _Hollywood_. Can't we just skip this, we've gotten so far without it."

I narrowed my eyes at his poorly veiled attempt at deflecting. Maybe he was tired, generally he was better at it than this.

"I've seen you in the sunlight. That's why I never asked, I figured it was just TV bullshit."

"Exactly, so let's-" I cut him off and turned to Sanura.

"But I've never seen _you_ in it." She looked up at me in the rearview and arched a brow. "Why is that? Do you just enjoy the stereotype that much? Is it some kind of ploy to confuse the Hunters?"

Isaac sat up in his seat and turned to look at me, accessing my seriousness. Obviously he saw that I wasn't joking. "Is this the part where you ask how to _hypothetically_ kill the both of us?"

"Maybe she doesn't like you as much as you thought, kitten." Sanura smirked from the driver's seat.

"Don't call me that." He snapped, shooting her a look then turning back to me. "Are you that pissed about the drive? Are we back to killing again? I thought you'd gotten passed that."

At this, because it was funny _and_ making me nervous that both vampires seemed agitated by this and were staring at me, I shook my head. "You're all so secretive. It's incredibly annoying."

"Oh I'm sorry, how rude of us." Isaac grinned harshly and sat back in his seat, back to watching me in the visor mirror. "Let's all swap how to kill ourselves stories, because that's what friends do. I missed that memo."

"Try not to have an aneurism, I was just curious, but since _you_ brought it up, sure. Let's swap stories."

His eyes narrowed in the mirror. "I don't need _you_ to tell me the ways to kill you, Mira. I've had lifetimes to figure it out and invent some of my own."

At this I gave him a dirty look and crossed my arms. "It's too late to threaten me _ass_. You pretty much answered my question anyway," I shrugged, "and raised a bunch more."

"Oh?" Sanura asked, sounding more like the first time I'd met her and she hated me, then I liked. Since we were on the subject however, I was curious. It was their fault really.

"Why can't you walk in the sun if Isaac can?" The vampire stared at me a long moment, before Isaac started to cut in and she lifted a finger of silence.

"I can." She finally snapped, "That is a myth." When I continued to stare at her, she sighed and looked back at the road. "But I can't do so for long."

"Sanura." Isaac snapped, but she scoffed at him.

"The little shit is right. She's earned a few answers if she's putting things together anyway." She tilted her head and smiled in a frightening predatory way. "Besides, she _depends_ on you, killing you would only get _her_ just as dead."

"Thank you for putting it in such simple terms." I replied, sitting back in the seat with a frown. Christ, they were cranky tonight. Sanura winked at me in the rearview, still smiling like she could just as easily rip me in half. While I liked to think we'd managed a shaky friendship, I couldn't be completely sure.

"Fine." Isaac snapped, cracking his neck and starring at me in the mirror. "Generally speaking vampires can walk around in the day, but after a while it drains them." He sighed, looking out the window a moment at the sky. "At first it's just your eyes. They hurt, everything is too bright, too warm, and then the headaches start. Sort of like a migraine, or the closest thing we have to one. After a while your body starts to ache. By the time noon rolls around and the sun is at its brightest the pain is enough to drive any vampire back to shelter."

"You said _generally_ speaking?" I pushed.

"That isn't enough?"

"Not even close." I smiled.

Sanura, who had just covered a laugh continued for him. "Every person on this planet is unique. Strengths, weaknesses, _allergies, _those carry over when we are turned. The person you _are_ determines the person you'll _be_."

"And what kind of person are you?" I asked slowly.

"The kind that feels the pain first when I'm under the sun." She sighed in irritation, "Some of us are more sensitive to the light, some even burn, but it can't kill most of us. Only the rare pantywaist I guess."

"Ok." I nodded and looked back at Isaac. "So why is it you can walk around all day without any of this? I _met_ you in the morning, you spent the day with me and you were completely fine."

"High tolerance for pain." He grumbled.

"Besides that?"

He met my eyes in the mirror and his were darkening with anger. "I'm _special_."

"How are you-"

"**No**." he said and the finality in his tone shut me right up. "We aren't talking about me. You haven't earned_ that_."

I glared at him a long time, wanting to argue, but knowing it was no use. Isaac was set on this, so I groaned in irritation and sat back in my seat crossing my arms over my chest in a huff.

"_Fine_." I snapped. "Then _Sanura _what about holy water?"

The vampire chuckled, glancing at the grumpy Isaac. "Pure fiction. Besides even if it wasn't, the idea that any human on this earth could create something as pure as Holy Water is beyond laughable. Man is _corrupt_. Were holy water our weakness, you'd all be screwed."

"What about wooden stakes through the heart. Would that kill you?"

Isaac tuned to look back at me levelly, "A stake through the heart would kill most things."

I knew him well enough to recognize that his statement was meant to sound like an affirmation, but wasn't. He was good at that, misdirection was Isaac's game.

"But not a vampire." I finally said, staring at him with just as much intensity. A smirk curled in the corner of his mouth and he nodded. "Alright, what about all that religious stuff. Crosses and the words of God and so forth."

Sanura laughed at this, taking the turn onto a wooded road I vaguely recognized. "That would make sense…if every vampire on the face of the planet was _deeply_ religious."

"What if you used their individual religious symbols?"

She shook her head. "No dice, sweety. Religion is a dead end." This time when she smiled, it was playful. "What else you got?"

I thought over what I had learned so far. If this was my crash course on vampires I wanted to know everything I could.

"What about the mind thing. You guys can control people can't you. You can get into their heads."

She shrugged, "Yes and no. Influence is not the same as control. As with all abilities, the strength of it depend on the vampire."

"So you can't force people to do things then or forget things?"

She sighed, "We can, but it take practice." At my no doubt look of fright she laughed, "don't worry kitten your brain is a fortress. We've all tried. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel was the only one who could break through."

At this Isaac made a strange animal sound, like the hiss of a snake and glared at her. "Not even the God can get through, Daniel is no god."

"Someone should tell him that." She murmured and went back to steering.

Eagar to get off the subject that made Isaac the most touchy however, I sat forward and moved so that I could look him in the eye, though I had to sit on the center console to do so. The vampire watched me as if I might bite him.

"Have you ever gotten inside my head." I paused at his arched look, "Deep enough to change me, I mean. Have you ever made me do anything?"

He sighed, running fingers through his raven black hair and glancing at me from the corners of his eyes. "Once."

When he didn't continue, I grabbed his seat and pulled myself closer, "Well? What did you do?"

"Are you sure you want to talk about this?"

"Well _now_, yes." Was he stupid?

With a groan meant to let me know this was irritating the shit out of him he began.

"It was the first day you met me. You remember, don't you. You'd snuck off while the Hunters were busy at the hardware store and went into that little book store. You were looking at a book of WWII poetry." He smiled, "_Suicide in the Trenches_ by Siegfried Sassoon. I'd followed the lot of you into town and watched you for a good 10 minutes before you finally noticed."

"I thought you were a creeper." I scowled, recounting the day with equal parts anger and reminiscence. I decided to behave myself however and went with the positive. "Hottest creeper I'd ever seen though."

While Isaac smirked, Sanura was rolling her eyes, muttering something under her breath only he caught.

"I'd only want to get closer to the Hunters and you were the only weak link in their armor. The girl who didn't follow their strict lifestyle." He reached out to brush the hair back from my face, "you didn't give in easily though. Atracted to me or not you weren't just going to hop into bed with me. I respected that. And then I got closer and really got a _smell_ of you. For a moment I couldn't help myself and I grabbed you." Isaac shrugged, sitting back in his chair to get comfortable and avoid my stare. "I would have tasted you then, but I scared the shit out of you. Girl, you can really struggle when you want to. I had to drag you into the employee's room and kill the cashier to get you out of sight when you pitched your fit and then I glamoured you. I calmed you down and took away your memory of it."

For a long minute we sat in silence while I stared at him, trying to decide if I wanted to start yelling or probe further. I decided on the latter, knowing I probably would get answers later.

"It was just as easy as that?" Cern had tried many times, but I seemed to be able to keep him out of my head for the most part. As far as I knew, if I wasn't sleeping, I was a fortress, and this I liked. It was my small consolation, and now I wanted to understand it just a little better.

Looking like he wanted to do anything but, Isaac continued, sagging down into his chair like a sulking child. "Not exactly, no. I had to hold you still and look at you directly to do it, and even then…" he trailed off, playing piano keys off on his leg. His eyes were on me, but he wasn't seeing me, he was _remembering_. "You'd never met a vampire before me. I was the first person who ever attempt to get inside. I think that's the only reason it worked. You were startled and didn't know what was happening. You didn't know what you were feeling and therefore couldn't stop it."

I tried to picture what he described, but found nothing. It wasn't like the pinholes in the memory of my past, faces and names, and all the tiny details missing with the big picture left tattered and ruined. This was just _nothing_, as if he were describing a movie I'd never seen. It didn't feel wrong, there just wasn't anything to miss.

"I haven't been able to do it since." Isaac said slowly, watching me over his steepled hands in the visor mirror. "I think that now you know what to expect, you can stop it. I don't know how, but you sense it and just shut down the doors and-"

"Wait," I held up a hand a moved closer to him, frowning. "But what about…"I had to swallow first before I could work the words from my mouth about that night. "The night you took me, if I hadn't let you in, how were you going to…"

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."

"_Isaac_."

"Do you really think I would have let you in there if there was a chance you could have kept me out and warned the others? I'd realized I couldn't glamour you after that point."

"But-"

"This isn't the movies Mira, I have a reflection, I love garlic bread, and I've never needed permission to walk into someone's home."

"But you made me…" I curled my hands into fists. "You _told_ me there were wards against you."

He nodded, "Your hunters attempted old magic, but they didn't understand it. They got it wrong and it did nothing to protect them."

I gripped his seat until my knuckles turned white. "Then why the hell did you make me invite you inside?"

Isaac sat straight, shaking his head. "It isn't important, Mira. Why are you bringing this up now when you hate talking about it?"

"Isaac,** tell** me."

The vampire sighed heavily again, letting his head fall against the back of the seat and staring up at the roof of the car. He didn't seem to like talking about this either.

"I wanted to hurt you." He said simply and I slowly sat back in my seat as he continued, stunned into silence. "When I seduced you, you opened up to me and told me about your family. You told me about how they died, that you saw them slaughtered. It haunted you in your dreams and you couldn't escape their faces or the way they had looked after the beast was done." He lifted his head again to watch me.

"Everything was set up perfectly; I just couldn't help myself then. You had your fantasies of sparkling, poetic vampires with ridiculous religious weaknesses and I used it. I wanted to_ play_ with you. I knew the trauma you had been through and I recreated it to see how you'd react." He turned around in his seat and looked directly into my eyes. "I made you watch your family die for the second time."

"I don't understand."

"You were broken, Mira, I wanted to shatter you _completely_. I forced you to become their Judas, to call for me so that you could watch the hatred and betrayal in their eyes. I ripped them apart in front of you. I sat you in the middle of their blood and body parts and waited for you to crack, and when you didn't I took you home to see if I could _make_ you. I might have even killed you if it hadn't been for my curiosity. You smell like Life itself, you taste like Heaven, and you can keep even a _God_ out of your head when you try hard enough. I didn't want to let you go after that. Like most of my kind, I tend to keep what benefits me. I am a collector of precious things."

Sanura cleared her throat then and the car can to a stop. I realized that we had arrived at Isaac's manor, but didn't move. I couldn't move now that my body was brimming with rage. I could only stare at Isaac as he watched me calmly.

"We're home. Kitten why don't you come with me?" Sanura tried, but I only grit my teeth and curled my hands into fists again. Isaac glanced down at them with a half-smile.

"You know these rage issues you have are a response to your trauma. If you'd face it, you might learn to control yourself.

"_Oooo_**k**." Sanura slipped out of the car and traced to my door, opening it and lifting my up and out like a child. "Let's get you away from the grumpy bastard, kay?"

I let her carry me off, watching Isaac as he stepped from the car and stretched, a smile still curling his lips. Sanura swept my hair behind my ear and sighed heavily after seeing it.

"You won't have much time to be pissed at him tonight, kitten. You'll have other thing to think about." She'd taken us up to my room, moving so quickly that when she set me down on the bed my head was spinning.

"Was he telling the truth?" I asked picking at the comforter beneath me. The vampire sighed again.

"Yes, sweet heart, he was, but that isn't important right now."

"Why the hell would you say _that_?"

At this she met my eyes levelly, giving me what I could only describe as a 'Mom look' "Because we have an execution to attend in an hour and you need to start getting ready. It always takes you forever."

She was right, at the thought my jaw went slack and the anger drained out of me, replaced by far and heartache. "That happens _tonight_? But we just got here. Can't they put it off until at least tomorrow?"

She must have heard the panic and emotion building in my voice because suddenly, Sanura was right next to me kneeling down beside the bed and pulling me into a hug. She hushed me gently and smoothed down my hair, kissing my forehead.

"I know it will be hard, kitten, but we have no choice. You must be strong tonight, for Josep's sake."

"No." I sniffled, wrapping my arms around her and trying not to cry. "It's not fair."

The vampire chuckled softly at that and pulled back to look at me and tuck my hair behind my ear, "Nothing is fair, kitten." Then she stood, "Now you go wash your face and start getting yourself together, I'll bring you your bags."

I didn't respond, but when I looked up she was already gone and my heart was aching in my chest. I didn't want to do this._ Couldn't_. I wasn't strong enough to watch another loved one die. I didn't even know when he'd graduated to loved one, but I knew I never wanted to see him harmed, least of all by the bitch queen Colette.

Tonight was going to be one of the hardest I'd had in a while.

* * *

**It's been a while. This chapter was going to go straight on into the execution but it would have taken longer to post so I decided to give you guys this one as a taste. It's filler I know, but the execution is just around the corner nd will be upo as soon as it's fleshed out. Between school and two jobs, it's hard to find time to write for your guys, but I'm doing my best. Let me know what you think of it so far.**

**-Calamity**

**PS For those of you who have no idea what poem Isaac was talking about, it's one of my favorites and i thought i'd post it. I am deeply in loved with the last part in particular. **

**Suicide in the Trenches**

**By: Siegfried Sassoon**

I knew a simple soldier boy  
Who grinned at life in empty joy,  
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,  
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,  
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,  
He put a bullet through his brain.  
No one spoke of him again.

You snug-faced crowds with kindling eye  
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,  
Sneak home and pray you'll never know  
The hell where youth and laughter go.


	34. The Execution

The world was moving in a fog, thick and heavy. I felt as if the last hour had passed underwater and I was finally loosing the last of my held breath. My chest was tight and my hands ached from curling and uncurling my fists. Sanura sat in the seat beside me in the back of the car, and Isaac who had been less than friendly for a while now was driving.

He' turned on the radio to discourage talking after my many attempts to find out what exactly I was going to see tonight. I imagined dozens of scenarios in which Colette tortured Josep in front of us, and we were made to watch silently, unable to so much as complain. The ideas were making my stomach turn, and it hadn't been until Sanura pulled me up against her shoulder into a hug that I'd been able to breathe calmly. We'd spent to ride pressed together, her stroking my hair and murmuring that it would be alright whenever I began to hyperventilate again. Now that she didn't hate me anymore, Sanura was showing her inner mom. Part of me couldn't help but think that if I wasn't carful she'd adopt me as her own. Then again, the way Isaac was acting tonight, I might just let her.

When we pulled up to the manor, my lungs began to spasm again, and Sanura hushed me gently, kissing my temple and whispering soft soothing words in Italian. Though I couldn't understand them, they comforted me, or more aptly, the idea that she would be with me through this was comforting. As much as I would have liked to turn to Isaac in this situation, he was in no position to comfort anyone.

The front door opened before we'd made it onto the porch and a tall gaunt man stepped out onto it looking at us as if we'd been scraped off the bottom of his shoe. When Isaac moved in front of him however, the man, who was dressed like a butler smiled wide and unnervingly and gestured that we enter the house.

"The madam is tending to another matter at the moment; she's asked that I escort you into the lower levels. It pleases her to allow you all your last words with the traitor before he is made to ash."

"How nice of her." I seethed quietly, getting a glare from the creepy tall man. Isaac was no more pleased by my comment.

"Shut your mouth, Mira." He said in his cold grey voice, "you will show Colette the respect she demands."

I kept back an angry retort only because I saw the furrowed look on Sanura's face and recognized that he'd said _demands_, rather than _deserves_. The butler didn't seem to catch on however and turned a renewed, ass-kissing smile on the grouchy vampire.

"Right this way."

Sanura's fingers slipped down to mine and laced them together. I squeezed once to let her know that I was alright for the moment and we moved into the house, following the creepy bastard I was beginning to suspect as a shadow. He took us passed the lounge I had been brought to the night Isaac had brought me here. The same night he'd crushed my hand in his fist just to please the bitch queen. We had come a long way since then, but part of me wondered, with his current mood if he was still willing to do such things to me. I decided I'd stick to Sanura and not find out. The creepy shadow led us into a small study, walking up to a set of floor to ceiling bookshelves and smiling brightly back at Isaac. His pale, skeletal hand moved to one of the old leather bound tomes near the center of the shelf and he pulled it out a moment. I heard the click of a latch and the bookshelf popped open. The butler pulled it open all the way and motioned us into the hall that led to a set of descending stairs. I pulled myself closer to Sanura as we moved into the dimly lit hall and began our way down. I wondered if Isaac's manor had a hidden floor like this one, but knew not to ask him anything at the moment, instead focusing on how incredibly chilling this place was.

The walls were white plaster until we'd gotten halfway down the stairs. They quickly became rough stone as we moved into another hallway lined in torches. I felt as if I'd walked onto the set of a Dracula movie, but kept the comparison to myself for the time being, knowing that no one was in the mood to appreciate it at the moment. A few yards ahead of us the hall was intersected by another. The butler took us to the left but as we were passing the right I heard the distant sound of someone crying. At least I'd thought it was behind us, until the butler came to another stop and I realized the sound bounced around down here.

There wasn't just one crying person, there was a _cell_ of them. A small stone cell packed tightly with every brand of human they could find. Some pressed themselves against the back wall at the sight of us, watching Isaac and Sanura carefully, expecting to be made a meal, because that's what they _were_ I realized, a stone pantry of _food_. There were some that had been fed on recently, slumped down on the floor, or propped back against the wall with blank looks on the fear-strained faces. The ones that weren't feeling the effects of blood loss were careful to keep us in sight, though the sight of me, another human with the vampires, seemed to calm them just a bit. If I was on the menu, then they were safe.

"Can I interest you in something to eat?" the butler smiled in his wide and creepy way, "We carry a fine selection of ages and blood-type. I am told that you prefer the younger females, Mr. Llewellyn." His odd black-brown eyes moved to me a moment then returned to Isaac. "This is the madam's private stock. We keep them away from the other _kine_ to avoid tainting. These silly things tend to mount each other at every opportunity."

Isaac's eyes moved over the trembling humans a moment before he thankfully shook his head and the Butler turned his attention of Sanura, addressing her for the first time.

"Ms. Di Maio?"

"I'm fine thank you." She replied with a tight smile and the butler nodded.

"Very well then, if you would follow me this way." He turned on his heel and began moving down the hall again passing doors placed deep into the stone. Halfway down the hall, he stopped and grabbed the handle of one, pulling a thin skeleton key from his vest pocket and unlocking the door. It was thinker than I'd imagined but that thought fled my mind when the door opened and inside, sitting on a rickety wooden chair was Josep.

I had to stop myself from running in and throwing my arms around him, but my face lit up at the sight of him. When he saw us, the tension melted from his body and he gave a slight smile. The butler ushered us all into the room and politely excused himself, closing and locking the door behind us. If I weren't so happy to see Josep alive and _not_ tortured, I might have felt like a prisoner myself. He was dressed well for someone who was about to die. In a fitted dark blue suit and a chocolate colored shirt that matched his eyes, he looked fantastic.

"You're ok." I said before I could stop myself, but the vampire was kind enough to smile and open his arms to me.

"Were you that worried?" he asked with a charming smile as I allowed myself the comfort of hugging him like a lost brother.

"Of course I was." I grumbled, resting my head on his chest while he held me. I think he knew I needed the comfort and was more than willing to give me my moment.

"This is stupid." I grumbled pathetically into his suit jacket. The vampire chuckled, kissing my temple and pulled me back enough to look me over. His eyes slipped down to my shirt and brightened, and for the first time since England, he flashed that wonderful boyish smile.

"I told you it would look wonderful." He said, nodding to the silky, draping top I wore, the one he'd chosen for me when we'd gone shopping in England. I smiled, and blinked away the first of my tears, but Josep's hand rose to cup my cheek. His thumb stroked gently across a falling tear, wiping it away.

"Oh, hush, darling, don't waste your tears on me. I don't deserve them."

"Don't stat that shit." Sanura snapped before I could, making him chuckle, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes and suddenly I felt like I was drowning again.

A knot formed in my throat so tight I couldn't speak and I turned away, beginning to tremble. Josep titled his head and cupped my face. For a moment he searched my eyes, and then with a smile, he kissed my forehead.

"It will be alright." He promised, but I couldn't believe him. He was going to be murdered in just a short while, how could _anything _be ok?

"Of course it bloody will." Isaac snapped from the far wall. His hands were in his pockets, and when Josep glanced over at him, he kicked the wall with a whispered curse. I wrapped my arms around myself and watched the younger-looking vampire approach him.

"I shouldn't have to tell you to treat her well." Josep said, titling his head to catch Isaac's eyes. The latter rolled them stuffing his hands further down into the pockets of his pressed pants, letting his ink-black hair fall into his eyes to cover them. We had all dressed formally tonight, as if we were attending a funeral.

With a tiny grin, Josep reached out to brush away the hair, and his fingers strayed on Isaac's face. His expression was tender, his eyes dancing down to the other vampire's lips and back before, quite suddenly, he'd taken hold of the back of Isaac's head and was pulling him into a kiss.

I stood frozen, watching as Isaac went very still and Josep twisted his fingers into his hair, pressing him back into the wall. It lasted only moments, but they seemed to stretch forever until Josep, with a soft sound of pleasure, pulled away, and searched Isaac's shocked face.

"I've wanted to do that since Prussia." He grinned wickedly. I covered my mouth, masking a tiny giggle, that thankfully went ignored by them both. That had been unexpected, I mean sure, to me it seemed logical that vampires would bend any way they pleased, but I'd never actually seen two men kissing before.

Honestly, it wasn't terrible.

"Boy, if you weren't due to be ended in minutes, I'd tear you in half." Isaac's words held little conviction, and Josep only laughed, running his thumb across his lips.

"Come now, Llewellyn, we all know the things you've done when the doors are closed. Sanura was never great at keeping secrets."

"I'll have to talk to her about that." He grumbled, eyes snapping to the vampire in question who did her best not to smile too brightly. Laughing at this, Josep moved to give Sanura a friendly kiss as well. He was opening his smile to say something when the lock on the door turned and suddenly flew open.

Colette liked to make her entrances it seemed.

The bitch queen was just as I'd remembered. Young and slight, seemingly harmless while her cold cornflower blue eyes scanned us. She was dressed in a grey and black wool blazer over a knee-length black dress. As always she looked far too sophisticated for what her age should have been, but somehow she managed to make it seem normal. However, there was just something creepy about a young almost-child holding herself convincingly as an adult.

"I see that you have all arrived." She spoke slowly, her eyes stopping on Isaac when they found him. "Then we can proceed." On cue a pair of large vampires clumped into the room and moved to stand on either side of Josep. "We will be doing this in The Chamber."

My eyes burned with tears and I felt my chest tighten again as the bitch turned on her expensive black heels and walked off down the hall, knowing we'd follow. I drew in a hitching breath but before I could release a sob, Josep was beside me, his fingers twining with mine. The vampire pulled my hand to his lips and smiled in her charming boyish way. God he looked so young.

"Stop your sniffling Mira." Isaac said from his place against the wall, but Josep was quick to shoot him a look and turn back to me.

"Colette wants you here because it will hurt you. Do not give her the satisfaction."

I sniffed, my throat sore and knotted. "I don't think I can help it." I said softly, hating how broken my voice sounded in a room full of dry-eyed vampires. Why was I the only one who seemed upset by this?

"Oh, sweet girl, you barely know me." Josep reached out to stroke my cheek gently, his skin was cold and hard like stone. "I don't expect you to mourn a stranger."

"I don't care how well I know you, Josep. You don't deserve to _die_."

The vampire smiled, looping his arm with mine and leading me down the hall after Colette. "We'll just have to disagree on that." As we walked, he chuckled and leaned down to speak softly in my ear.

"You know, I bet it chaps your boyfriend's ass that you took to me so quickly and called him a monster at every turn."

"He's not my boyfriend." I snapped back in a whisper. "And we both know he can be a monster. Right now for instance, doing absolutely nothing to help you."

Josep stood straight, abandoning the pretense of secrecy, since we all knew the vampire in question could hear us, even if he was walking a few yards behind. "You know he has no choice."

"Of course he does." I said, looking back at Isaac and catching his patchwork eyes. "He could say fuck the bitch queen and help his friend."

Josep's hand curled around my back and slapped down over my mouth, his expression going serious. When I looked back ahead of us, Colette was no longer down the hall but standing right in front of me. She had her creepy girlish smile on but as she titled her head to regard me it melted away.

"Isaac has made no more progress in taming you then he had when we met. Does he really stand for such arrogance and disrespect?" Josep still held a hand over my mouth but it didn't matter because she didn't wait for my response. "Perhaps I should do it for him. You don't need your tongue to be his shadow. You don't need your arms and legs either, for that matter. Shall I relieve you of them?"

"She is scared my queen, she speaks without thinking." Josep uncovered my mouth and gave me a meaningful look. After a moment I realized what it meant.

"He's right." I said quickly, trying to screw my face into something that seemed regretful. "Forgive me my que-"

My words were cut out by a choked gag when suddenly her slender little hand was around my throat. We'd moved across the hall and she had be pressed back against the stone wall, and I knew that the power with which she'd slammed me against it was going to leave one hell of a bruise. Colette's eyes were consumed with angry black, her fangs extended and she hissed like an angry cobra ready to strike me down.

"You do not speak to me you filthy little mortal whore." She spoke in the terrifyingly deep voice I'd heard her use on Isaac. Like a thousand different voices trapped in one, as if she spoke through the souls of all she had killed. "You believe Isaac will protect you from me but with my command I could have him tearing your flesh off in strips like and apple. You forget it is my will that allows him to keep you. My will that keeps you alive and I have grown tired of his lenience with you." Fear had washed over me like a frigid wave of water. I trembled under her grasp, clawing at her hand as if I might get her to loosen her grip on my throat.

"You can't do anything to me." I managed to rasp, despite the many angry and frightened looks of was getting from the three vampires behind the queen. "Cernunnos would never let you."

"_Mira_." Isaac hissed, but suddenly the queens grip fell away and she stared at me in confusion.

There was a long moment of silence and Colette turned to look at first Josep and then Isaac. The latter she approached. "The girl spoke of the Green Man, but I thought it nonsense." Her eyes narrowed and she reached up to grasp his chin. "What have you been keeping from me?"

"My Queen," a suited vampire appeared in a stone doorway to our right, bowing his head. "The chair is ready."

She did not respond, instead she searched Isaac's carefully blank expression and scowled. "You _will _explain." She finally said and released his face to snap at her guards. They quickly swarmed in on Josep and pulled him into the stone doorway and the room beyond.

After Colette had followed them in, I snuck a look at Isaac who's eyes had gone black and were locked on me. I flinched when he appeared before me and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me into the room as well.

"We'll discuss this later." He said in a voice that spoke of anger and promised pain. I decided not to say anything else.

The room we'd enter was much bigger than it had seemed. Incredibly so. It was around 40 feet long and nearly as wide. The center of the room was lowered into the floor in a circle with steps cut out all the way around in. It looked more ceremonial than anything, with a large steel and wooden chair that had been placed at the center. As I watched, Josep was strapped into the chair, with thick steel cuffs locked around his ankles and stomach. Thankfully, she called off the guards before they could secure his wrists as well, and told them to wait outside until needed. We were left alone then with the queen and Josep, Sanura silent at my left, and Isaac digging his fingers into my arm to my right. Colette moved to stand before Josep with a smug smile that made me wish they'd all attack her while they had the chance.

"Traditionally this would be the part where I lay out your crimes and tell you what your punishment will be, but I do not find it necessary."

"I know how you like your traditions. You wouldn't want to spit on them by including one in this mockery of a trial." Josep replied, just as spitefully, with a smile to melt hearts.

"Mockery?" The queen laughed. "You killed one of our kind, Josep. More importantly an Elder of your people, one of the oldest. Your _maker_ and lover. Our law dictates that for such a grievous offense you must be put to death, and I cannot see why you would have ever believed otherwise."

Josep sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, "We all know why you have sentenced me, and we know why you sent away the witnesses." He nodded toward the door and her guards. "Let's just get this over with so you can have your precious power."

Colette's eyes narrowed again, but she smiled, leaning down to stroke her long nailed finger across his cheek, drawing blood as she went though it healed just as quickly. "Silly boy, that would be a mercy to kill you immediately." She lifted her fingers to her lips, licking the blood clean and closing her eyes a moment at the taste. "You ran from me Josep, killed my spies and disappeared with your stolen power. For that you _will_ suffer."

Josep laughed without humor, glaring up at her with eyes that were steadily darkening, "It must be torturous, knowing that he kept the secret from you all those years. They both did." He titled his head at her, "In the end he chose me."

Colette stared at him a long moment, seeming as if she might strike him or have another crazy voice fit, but instead she let her lips curl into a cruel smile and looked toward the stone door. "Bring him in." she called and suddenly the smile on Josep's face melted.

I jumped as the heavy metal door was dragged open behind us and a masculine cry bloomed from beyond it. Seconds later a man in his mid-thirties was dragged in and thrown to the floor at Colette's feet. She smiled in her cold way while Josep's eyes went momentarily wide and the man began to sob.

He was dirty, clothed in ragged jeans and a stained, off-white tee-shirt. They had beaten him it seemed, I could see the dark bruising down his arms and coloring his pale face. He might have even been handsome before the swelling and blood had covered the majority of it, I thought pityingly and slipped my finger around Isaac's hand until he squeezed back reassuringly, the first comfort he'd offered.

"Destin?" Josep spoke slowly as the dazed man pushed himself back up and looked around. When his gaze found Josep however, there was a spark of light and hope that made the vampire outwardly cringe. The man crawled forward as fast as he was able and wrapped his arms around Josep's leg like a lost child.

"I thought they'd killed you!" The man, Destin it seemed though it struck me as such a youthful name for him, cried. He didn't care that he was openly crying in front of an audience or perhaps he'd truly forgotten us at the sight of his vampire companion.

"_Calm_, Destin. I am fit as a fiddle, you can see that." Josep bent forward to run his fingers through the man's hair, who visibly relaxed at the contact. It was such an odd sight, I thought, Josep who appeared to be a young man and his lover who was obviously middle-aged. What an odd dynamic they must have had. Though I had to admit the man clearly cared for Josep, _loved_ him even by the way he settled so easily against him. The way he looked at him.

"I was so scared when you left, Josep." Destin was saying and his broken voice made my heart hurt even more, "You didn't tell me where you were going and then they took me." He sniffed back more tears and curled into himself, more tightly around Josep as if holding onto him would keep him steady. "They didn't believe me when I said I knew nothing. They…they _hurt_ me Josep."

"Hush now." The vampire replied and drew his finger down to stroke the man's cheek, smiling faintly when he leaned into the caress. "It's over now, _m'bello._" Josep leaned forward and kissed the shadow's forehead, then lifted his chin to gaze into his eyes.

"You understand what is happening here, do you not?" he asked slowly, suddenly very serious again.

"Y-yes, but-"

"No buts," Josep snapped, then closed his eyes and seemed to relax at least outwardly for his shadow. "This is not something you can change. Now stand up straight, you are better than this, Destin."

With great reluctance the man did as he was told, but took a firm grip of Josep's hand and refused to relinquish it, knuckles white with the power of his hold. Josep turned his eyes for the first time to our little group and the breath I'd been holding hissed out.

"Sanura, darling, I know it's a terrible thing to ask last minute but would you-"

"**No**." The finality in Colette's tone made me jump. I'd almost forgotten she was here, but now the pale heartless bitch was baring her fangs and glaring at Josep with malice. "You have broken our law, Josep, and so by that law your life and all you posses is now mine."

Josep seemed to understand some deeper meaning in her words because immediately he pulled Destin down by his hand and into the most passionate kiss I'd ever seen exchanged between two men. It was broken however when one of Colette's vampire servants stepped forward at her nod and grabbed the human by his upper arms. He dragged him just out of Josep's reach from the chair and held him there as Colette approached. Destin began to panic but Josep did his best to calm him.

"No, _m'bello_, look at _me_. There's my boy. Everything will be fine." he strained to keep himself seated as Colette stepped up behind Destin and grabbed the sides of his head. He was halfway through a cry for help when the vampire simply twisted and the words were cut off by a wet crack and then nothing. She continued to twist until the tendons and flesh split from each other and the man's head was torn completely from his body.

I watched in morbid fascination as Josep closed his eyes in grief and then Colette dropped the head, letting the red-dripping thing bounce along the floor and roll onto its side to face me. I could see the muscles in his face, still twitching and his expression was one of extreme terror and pain. For a long moment I could only stare into the dead eyes of the face until my vision darkened around the edges.

The next thing I knew Isaac was holding me against his chest and gripping my wrist so tight I feared it would break. Apparently I'd only lost consciousness long enough to crumple toward the floor but Isaac's quick catch had jolted me back. I blinked as I tried to stand strait again and leaned against Isaac for support. Josep was looking my way now, as was Colette though her interest left quickly enough. He seemed mildly concerned for me but turned back to the heartless bitch they had named their queen when he'd seen that Isaac was taking care of me.

"You needn't have killed him." He said slowly, jaw tightening when Colette kicked the rest of the corpse out of her way to avoid the spray that was jetting out of his throat now.

"Yes, "she sighed with a cruel smile, "but you cared for him, did you not? If we had the time I would have had him _tortured_ for you, Josep."

"What a shame." He replied through his teeth, now decorated by his fangs, long and fierce as if he were still starving, and his pupils swelled to consume the rest of his eyes.

"Indeed." She replied, moving to lean down level with him. "You know, it really should have been Amhlaoibh who told me the secret. It is my right as Elder to hold such knowledge, yet it was _Daniel_ who shared it with me. It was insulting, as if the bastard didn't hold himself high enough already."

"He knew how you'd use it." Josep said, eye narrowed in hateful black on Colette. "Make no mistake, you desperation for power is known by all your subjects and it _will_ be the death of you. My only regret is that I will not life to see it."

Colette smiled reaching at and running her hand over his blond hair. "No," said slowly, "you won't."

Josep had begun to reply then and I waited for it, watching the expression on his face go from anger to shock. It wasn't until I looked down at her arm, sunken down to the elbow in his gut, that I understood why and nearly collapsed again. My knees wobbled and Isaac's hold on me grew tighter, partly to keep me upright, but mostly to stop me from charging the vampire queen in my horror.

The two of them stared at one another for a moment, her smile widening as Josep coughed up blood onto her nice clothes. She twisted her arm and from inside of him I hear a sickening wet crack followed by the sound of tearing. He grunted, but never let out a sound of pain, simply stared at the vampire, gripping the arms of the chair so tightly the steel was denting inward.

I let out a strangled sob then, unable to help myself, covering my mouth with my hands quickly and shaking my head in disbelief. Tears rolled down my cheeks and plopped down on the dusty stone floor and Isaac squeezed me tighter. Josep turned slowly, his eyes pausing on Isaac a moment before falling to me. Though it was obviously a strain to do so, Josep's lips parted for a smile. He did it for me, but the blood staining his teeth was anything but comforting. Colette saw this and caught my eyes, then with a short laugh, she jerked her hand out of his chest.

It took me a moment to recognize the bloody lump f meat in her hand as his heart, but once I did my eyes went to Josep and his face. I was stunned to see him conscious, if it only lasted a second, but in the end, he'd never lost that smile. I watched as his head dropped down, limp on his chest, and he began to whither right in front of me. It was as if his age had caught up to him. His skin lost its luster, his hair began dull and lifeless and then it was falling out. His flesh dried and shrank around his body until it was too much and split off the bone. Just as that had touched the air, however, it began to disintegrate. What was left behind barely looked human. The face was deformed and feral, the fingers long and clawed like an animal. I couldn't bring myself to look away from him until Colette drew an excited breath and lifted the heart to her mouth. I expected her to try and suck on it, but my stomach rolled when instead she took a bite. Blood gushed out of the muscle, rolling down her chin and arms, but she was lost in whatever she took from this, and soon she had eaten the entire thing, licking her fingers clean.

"It makes sense." She said then as she'd sucked the last of Josep's blood from her forefinger. "The power is in the blood, but the heart controls that. Regulates it." Her eyes rolled back in pleasure and she smiled big a bright, looking truly disturbing with blood running down her front and up her arms.

"I can already feel it." She said, her voice full of joy and wonder, "Like Amhlaoibh is inside, giving me his strength." When her eyes opened they were black and gleaming in the dim light of the chamber. "Is this what it always feels like Isaac? This _rush_?"

I turned a curious stare on the vampire in question, but he was not paying me any attention. Instead he stared at Colette, carefully keeping his eyes above the chair and the corpse.

"I have never killed one of our kind for this purpose." He replied, but the queen chuckled.

"No, you let Daniel do that for you. You know that there isn't a fool who would try to accuse him of anything."

Isaac didn't respond for a long moment, but took a slowly steadying breath in. "We we seen what you wanted us to witness?" he asked, "Or is there more?"

Colette turned her eyes to Sanura, who was frozen, her eyes locked on the dead creature in the chair, then to me as I trembled uncontrollably but met her gaze just the same.

"I'm feeling generous." She smiled, appearing in front of us to stroked Isaac's cheek. "You surprised me, sweet boy, I thought you would try something foolish for your friend here. I am pleased by your loyalty."

"I didn't do it for you." He replied hollowly and suddenly pulled away, taking my wrist tightly. "I will await your summons." He said.

The queen's black eyes moved back to me and she looked me over. "We will have much to discuss."

He nodded and turned on his heel, dragging me after him as we left the room.

"Sanura, darling, would you be so kind as to dispose of the rest. I would like time to acquaint myself with my new strengths."

Isaac paused long enough for her to nod stiffly and look our way. "I'll meet you at home." She said before turning back to the body. I could not look at it anymore because I feared I'd be sick. Instead I let my tears blurr my vision and walked as quickly as I was able to keep up with Isaac.

He hadn't said a word. Not one fucking word to stop anything. He hadn't argued or even asked that she show mercy in his death. He'd stood there, silent and cold and cruel and watched his friend murdered for a crime his queen had fabricated. And for what? To eat his heart and steal the power and strength his maker had gifted him. It sounded ridiculous, but I'd watched it all and could deny it. In the back of my mind I feared what it meant for Colette, but decided I couldn't handle the stress of that one top of everything else. Instead I just let myself sob uncontrollably until Isaac scooped me up into his arms and traced us out of the house. He opened my door and tossed me inside, clicking his own seatbelt into place and started the engine before I'd managed to close my door. I didn't care that he was being mean to me right now though. I couldn't.

Josep was dead. Not vampire dead, but shriveled and never coming back dead. The thought made my chest so tight I struggled to breath and my sobbing grew louder with my building horror and grief. My throat ached and my cheeks were burning from the salt in my tears, but I couldn't stop. I felt as if there was a blade buried deep in my gut and each time I thought back to the way Josep had shriveled to a mummified corpse twisted the blade and doubled my pain.

"Enough Mira." Isaac said suddenly. "I cannot deal with your wailing at the moment, so stop crying."

At that moment the grief boiled up inside my chest, bubbling and mixing with a rage so potent it made my head spin. If my eyes could turn black when I was feeling enraged they would have.

"Stop crying? Are you _kidding_ me?" I shouted startling him enough that he looked at me with slightly widened eyes. "I know he wasn't my best friend and you knew him way better than I ever could, but _**fuck**_ you Isaac!"

"I'm not sure I follow." He said slowly, and the speedometer began to creep upwards.

"I liked him too! He was funny and sweet to me and _so brave_," I had to pause to take a breath through my tears, "And he was honest. He always told me exactly what he thought no matter how I would take it. _No one_ is honest with me Isaac, but _he_…" My voice broke and I had to cover my face to muffle the sobbing.

"He died for _nothing_!" I cried, suddenly furious, "That greedy bitch Colette wanted his power, that's _all_! There was no reason for any of this. And you fucking _helped_ her!"

The car sped up a bit more, but I was on the war path, shouting at him without thinking.

"You could have let him escape, you could have done _something_!"

"You think I don't care?" he asked, voice silky and dangerously calm.

"That's **exactly** what I think!" I exclaimed, "Josep is dead and you haven't so much as _frowned_. You don't give a_**damn**_ about him!"

The air exploded from my lungs as the car came to a screeching halt, throwing me against my seatbelt, and fishtailing, nearly hitting a tree. I turned to curse at Isaac, but his door was swinging open and he was gone. Then there was the terrifying sound of wrenching metal, like crashing cars and my door went flying off into the trees.

I was next, ripped out of my seat and tossed off into the darkness before I could scream. Isaac was waiting to catch me before I slammed against a tree, but almost immediately his fingers curled around my throat and he lifted me up off my feet again. I choked and sputtered and clawed at his hands, but it was no use.

"You have no idea, _**NO IDEA**__,_ how deeply I cared for that man." His grip tightened until I thought he would crush my throat. "Now he is gone and you have the _gall_ to accuse me of…" his voice trailed off, surprising me enough to pause though I couldn't breathe. "You can't imagine how hard it was to take him to her, Mira. How hard it was not to…"

Again he couldn't finish and very suddenly Isaac's grip fell away and I crumpled onto the ground at his feet, coughing until I thought I'd lost a layer of flesh in my throat. Isaac stepped away from me then, shaking his head. His eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight, like polished obsidian gems and his fangs extended as if he were starving.

The vampire let out a roar, inhuman and endless. It seemed to rip from his very center echoing out through the trees. It made me gasp, though it hurt to breathe, and draw away from him. He wasn't interested in me anymore though because the vampire moved again.

Flashing toward a tree so quick he left tracers, he grabbed the lowest branch and ripped it off with a sound like crashing thunder. I ducked down, covering my head and peeking out to watch him toss the thing into the woods to crash against another tree and explode into splinters and sawdust. Almost before the first had hit, he grabbed another, pulling the small tree from the ground entirely and hurling it over my head and into the car. I screamed out of instinct and fell back on my hands and knees to crawl away from the violence and sound. He'd sent the car skidding off into the road and crumpled in the front end.

Growling like a beast from Hell, Isaac continued to break everything he could get his hands on. Crumbling rocks in his fists and decimating the plant life. I remained huddled down at the tree line, terrified that he would remember I was there and tear me apart. I remembered the hunters and trembled, feeling sick with fear. Then, when I was sure he'd take down the forest, Isaac collapsed onto his knees, head in his hands, and went still.

I didn't move for a long time, too afraid to catch his attention, though he could surely hear my crying. If he did, he paid me no mind, and soon the silence around us was just as frightening.

"Isaac?" I called timidly, wiping away my tears. He didn't move, didn't even pretend to breathe. The vampire just sat there, silent, still, and unresponsive. And though I was afraid of him, it worried me.

"Isaac?" I said again, crawling forward slowly until only feet separated us. I almost asked if he was ok, but bit it back because_ obviously_ he wasn't. And then, close enough that I could reach out and take his hand, I noticed that he _was_ moving. He was _shaking_. My hand reached out slowly, and I swallowed, blinking away the moisture in my eyes.

"Touch me and I'll rip your fucking arm off."

His voice startled me in it suddenness, but was strangely soft, lacking conviction. I couldn't see his face, still crouched behind him, but the more I watched the more it seemed as if he were…but no. It wasn't possible. Isaac was heartless and evil and so many terrible things.

"Isaac, I didn't mean it." I said slowly, pulling back my hand to hold myself. "I was angry and miserable and I took it out on you."

"Go away, Mira." He murmured, voice soft and reedy. Again I wondered if such an unbelievable thing was possible, but it couldn't be.

Isaac couldn't possibly be _crying_.

I crawled around him on my hands and knees, keeping a small distance between us and stopped when I was facing him. His hands still covered his face and shadow concealed the rest, but he was definitely shaking.

"I don't have anywhere to go." I said, sniffling.

He didn't answer me after that, and fearing that he would remain here and leave me to find my own way to the manor, I inched closer.

"I'm sorry." I said, "I shouldn't have said that. I know you loved-"

"_You don't know the first thing about me_." He snapped, finally looking up, and shock had me falling back onto my butt as I stared at him.

**Tears**. Honest to god tears were streaking down his face in reflective, silver streams, though his eyes were black and cold. His fangs had receded enough that he no longer looked like a rabid animal, but his posture said he could snap again very soon. Knowing this, and with his threat in mind, I leaned forward and threw my arms around his neck. The vampire stiffened at first and his fingers closed around my arms as if to throw me off, but I shook my head, squeezing him tighter.

"It's ok." I said against his neck, "You don't have to pretend with me." My voice broke and I tried to speak around my sore throat. "I miss him too."

Isaac relaxed then, or more accurately went _limp_ against me. He didn't hold me, but now I could feel how bad he was trembling and it made my heart ache for him. He was grieving, and I hadn't even known that was_ possible_.

With a soft sob of my own, I sat up and pulled his head down against my chest, cradling the vampire I had hated for so long like a child. He didn't make much noise, but I could feel the tears as they warmed the fabric of my shirt. Softly hushing him, I began to rock, holding him close.

I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually I was the only one still teary-eyed. Isaac gently removed my arms pulling away to look up at the sky. I couldn't read his expression anymore, and wished for the first time that I could take Lidia's power and glean whatever he was thinking. Then, inhaling slowly and closing his eyes a moment, Isaac stood, pulling me with him.

"We should go." He said, his voice empty and so heart-wrenchingly broken that I wanted to hold him again.

"You killed the car." I said, fighting to control my voice again.

Isaac chuckled, though there was no real humor behind it, and looked at me, his eyes now back to their beautiful patchwork green and blue. He reached out to wipe away the last of my tears with his sleeve and nodded toward the road.

"Then I guess we'll walk."

I nodded solemnly, and without really thinking about it, slipped my hand into his. For a moment, he could only stare at the contact, then squeezed my hand gently and laced our fingers together. Without a word, we moved to the road and began to walk, and I leaned against his shoulder.

"What about the car?" I asked to his weary sigh.

Without answering, he pulled his cell from his pocket and sent a quick text to whomever it was that dealt with these sorts of things. After that the walk was silent. It wasn't for at least half a mile before I realized how incredibly tired I was and began to sag against him as we walked. Without missing a beat, however, Isaac scooped me up into his arms, letting me rest my head on his shoulder.

When I opened my eyes again, Isaac was carrying me up the stairs to my room. I looked up at him, still exhausted, and tried to see him as I normally did, evil and terrifying, but couldn't muster even a sliver of hatred for the vampire. He seemed so miserable now, so _human_. I'd never seen _anything_ so human in him as tonight.

He wasn't heartless, not really. Isaac was cold, and he could be cruel, but he still cared for some. He was capable of loving, and it gave me hope. He'd been a monster for centuries, he'd killed and tortured countless people, but when it really mattered, he could still cry. It meant that I could do the same when the years passed and my slipping grasp on humanity finally fell. I wouldn't be a complete monster.

"You need to sleep." Isaac said without looking at me. He shifted me in his grasp to open my door, carrying me to the bed to lay me down.

When he turned to leave however, my chest tightened and a fear I couldn't explain washed over me. My hand shot out to grasp his wrist and keep him from going.

"I _can't_…I don't want to be alone."

Isaac gazed at me a long moment, looking as if he might refuse, but I squeezed tighter, imploring him with my eyes.

"_Please_." I said, feeling the swell of tears threatening to return.

The vampire glanced at the door then and sighed, pulling from my hand. I let out a soft whimper when he moved to the door, leaving me feeling as if the air had been sucked from the room. I couldn't breathe. Oh god, I couldn't _breathe_! But Isaac only closed the door and turned back to me, and the air came back.

I scooted to make room for him as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his dirty suit jacket to the floor. It was strange, even though I knew this was only for comfort, to let him lie down beside me and rest against his chest. I'd never thought this would have been possible, but here we were, his arm around my shoulder and holding me close while I nestled into his chest and closed my eyes. I didn't want to cry anymore, but when I swallowed, the pain in my throat made me wince.

"I hurt you." Isaac said, his voice strange and hollow.

"It's alright." I replied. "I deserved it."

"No." he said softly, smoothing down my hair and we lapsed into silence again.

I couldn't listen to his heart, or feel the gentle rise and fall of his breathing, but I was soothed anyway. Just having him there, clutching him as if he held me to the very earth was comfort enough and after only minutes, I drifted off in to darkness.

* * *

**Llewellyn (loo-ell-en) meaning 'lion like' or 'shining one'. Welsh origin. It is one of Isaac's many last names.**

**Oh boy did this take forever and honestly it's not really what I was going for, but damnit it works. We learned some things today, like the fact that Isaac has a heart after all and Colette is an uppity bitch no matter what. A vampire can take the power of another creature by eating it's heart…or is that just vampires…hmmm, guess you don't know yet lalalala….AND Isaac has partaken in this little delicacy with Daniel his elusive old companion. *Gasp* For Shame!**

**Now what do you think about that?**

**i ask that you forgive any grammatical or plain stupid mistakes in this. It's still a rough draft, i just got too excited and wanted to get it posted. I'm hoping to have the time to go back through and edit later, but for now i wanted to get this chapter out to you guys, so that we can finally move on to the shit hitting the fan. Oh boy. Are you ready? I sure as hell am.**


	35. Unhinged

**Holy bananas it's been a while. For that I apologize, my life has been crazy and I needed a break from this story for a little bit. It turned into much longer than I'd intended but now I'm back and we're going to get the ball rolling again. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

There was a scream from downstairs.

It was the last of many I had heard over the previous three days. Though Isaac hadn't been home much lately, Sanura said that she had regulated him to the back half of the house, and denied him the use of the upstairs. I found it interesting that she had the power to do so in _his_ house, but I never questioned it. My mind had been on other things.

I'd spent this time upstairs. It sounded horrid, but with the size of this place, it didn't really mean much. I was still free to wander about the extra rooms and lounges. When I was hungry Sanura would bring me food and when I was lonely, she was there to comfort me.

It was strange. I hadn't even realized I was comfortable enough to cry on her shoulder until it had already happened. We were trapped in a house of mourning. Each of us dealing with Josep's death in our own way. I found myself crying less these days though. Perhaps I had simply been through this too often. Maybe I had reached the point when I could only release the sorrow and move on. This was by no means a bad thing. I preferred a few tears to my normal routine of sobbing like a child and locking myself away in a room. I no longer wallowed in my grief, but I felt it. There was a knife of sadness carving a slow path through my body, but I wasn't really sure what would happen when it had made its way through. I didn't know if I would be better, or simply cold.

"This is ridiculous." I grumbled, throwing down a card onto the table between Sanura and I. We'd been playing blackjack in the upstairs lounge that connected her room to the one I'd been using. While she'd assured me Isaac would keep his promise to remain downstairs and away from us, she'd still not wanted to take any chances. She wanted me close by in case she ever needed to intervene, though what she expected him to do, she hadn't said.

"What is?" Sanura asked, passing out the cards and collecting her next win. I suspected her of card counting, but she wouldn't own up to it, she'd been beating me all night.

"Hiding up here, from Isaac."

Her bright green eyes slid up to me over her next hand and she arched a brow. "Are you implying that he isn't a threat?"

"No. But…" I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "It's Isaac. He's been getting better…sort of."

"He's a big baby." She replied snappishly, drawing a card and smacking it down onto the table. "I hate him when he's like this."

"Does it happen that often?"

"He would have lost my friendship a long time ago if it did."

"Well can't you go beat it out of him?" I asked sliding down into my chair and drawing my knees up against the arm. The vampire laughed, sipping at the scotch she'd found in the small bar. Apparently Isaac had all sorts of alcohol stashed about the house. A normal person would think he was a drunk, but Sanura told me it was a way to stave off hunger. It was the same with his cigarettes, which explained why he always had them.

"Normally I would, yes. But when he's like this…" Sanura set down her cards. "It was the same when he found out about Daniel, what he'd done. He's _incredibly_ irritable. He gorges himself, drinks until even he is wasted, and his temper is uncontrollable. He acts like a fledgling again, eating until he's drunk with it, losing himself in anything he can."

"So you're telling me this is how he mourns?"

She nodded, "and it's ridiculous. You're right. Like I said, he's a big_ baby_."

I nodded, taking this in a moment then wrapping my arms around my legs. The infamous Daniel always peeked my interest, his relationship with Isaac even more so. "What did Daniel do to him?" I asked it gently, knowing this was a touchy subject for both of them. Though I was more likely to get the information out of Sanura. "Did he kill someone?"

The vampire frowned at the table a moment, her grip on her cards tightening a bit and rumpling the paper. "Not exactly. It isn't really my place to tell you, kitten, I'm sorry."

"I thought that you were ok with Daniel. Why won't you talk about him?"

"_Ok with him_." She repeated softly, laughing with a bitter smile at the floor. "That monster is not my _friend_." Her green eyes snapped to me, hard and serious. "The seer _showed _you how I was made. He was _bored_. He wanted something sturdy to bat around its cage for a while, sick of human toys that died too quickly. He _does_ that, you know, he creates vampires, keeps them weak because we heal. Because we can survive so much damage that it is astounding and his games can last for days."

"Daniel made you so that he could _hurt_ you?" I couldn't stop starring at her, in confusion, in shock. "How could that possibly benefit him in the end? What if you attacked him?"

"I can't." she said softly, her eyes were still on the floor, staring off into things I couldn't see. "He is my _sire_, Mira. No matter what he may do to me or to those I love, I will _always_ be his to command. That is the way of it, all he must do is _insist_, and I would _kill_ myself for his pleasure."

"Does Colette have that power over Isaac?" Was that why he had so easily taken his friend to his death, because he wasn't physically _capable_ of doing otherwise? I had been so angry with him at first, and it wasn't even his fault. What's more, he had known this and neglected to tell me, letting me think he was a monster rather than that Colette was forcing him to kill Josep. Suddenly I felt a little guilty, even if we had made up after.

Sanura nodded, "All sires may control their children. It is the reason they _make_ them. Once we are made, our lives are not our own. We in turn make those that _we_ can control. It is a vicious cycle."

I tucked my legs under myself on the cushion, and tried not to sound pushy, but my curiosity was insatiable. "If he made you for…that, then why were you all together for so long? How did you all become companions?"

The vampire sighed, leaning back in her chair and finally looking at me. "At first I was their toy." This made my eyes widen. "Daniel brought me to his villa at the time. He told me that I would die in that place. He had made me immortal, but that would only last as long as he wanted it to. As long as I didn't bore him, he said. He would feed me only when I had reached the point of starvation; make me tear the humans he brought home to shreds for his amusement and Isaac's."

She fixed me with a troubled stare and shook her head. "I was a mother so he only ever brought me children. He is not just a sadist, Mira. That creature takes his only pleasures from breaking the things he collects. He has a way of finding your deepest fears, your insecurities. He puts them on display, hurts you until you will give in to anything for just an hour of peace. I was a headstrong woman even in the beginning. I suppose he thought I would be a challenge. Taking me away from my husband, my _children_ who I loved more than anything, _that_ only made it sweeter to him."

"Isaac was really a part of that?" I asked after a long moment. Sanura nodded, watching me.

"In the first weeks, Daniel kept me to himself. He would…_play_ with me in front of Isaac, but he never let him touch me. Not that he ever tried. When I stopped crying and cursing him, Daniel began to lose interest. He would ask Isaac to punish me for imagined wrongs in his place and though he did, it was never with the same passion." She swirled the amber liquid in her glass a moment and smiled. "I hated him at first, I hated both of them, but I didn't want to die. I begged him to help me. He taught me the things that made the monster happy; the ways to struggle, and when I had gained back his attention, the things I should say. Isaac showed me how to _survive_, and was the one to suggest I be taken with them to hunt and given a chance as more than a toy. He explained what Daniel would want from me; that I could not hesitate to kill, I could not be merciful. He taught me the cruelty that would keep the monster's interest, and I used it. When he set me free, Daniel gave me a new name. He had always called me kitten before. He said it seemed fitting, but it was a reminder that I could always become his toy again. I tried to go out on my own, Isaac even attempted to help me, but I didn't know how to survive like this. I didn't know how to control myself anymore and I was…" she made a sound of anger in the back of her throat. "_Pathetic_. I was pathetic and he'd made me so _dependent_ that I went crawling back to him. After that I did everything he wanted of me to keep him happy until I found that I no longer hurt when I killed to feed."

Sanura was quiet a long moment and if I wasn't mistaken I saw the shimmer of what might have been a tear. "What kills me most is that he won. He broke me, made me as horrid as he is. Sometimes I think that's why he does it, hoping that he won't have to life alone with his sins. But that would imply he has a heart, and that is something he has _never_ been accused of."

I sat there a while taking this in, thinking of what it must have been like and not being able to even imagine. Then a thought struck me. "Daniel called you kitten to hurt you. You call _me_ kitten." I murmured.

She smiled sadly then, eyes going down to her hands. "Old habit I suppose. My husband used to call me kitten, it was the reason Daniel used it, to twist a good memory into something painful." She closed her eyes and sighed. "But my husband, when he said it, the word was full of love." She looked back at me then, "_I_ say it with love."

I moved from my seat then to sit next to her on the couch and hug her. I knew it was little comfort, but she accepted it willingly, wrapping her arms around me and stroking back my hair as if she were comforting her child.

"I'm sorry Sanura. I'm sorry you had to go through any of that."

"Without it I would never have gotten my chance to see the world, the way I'd dreamed. I have lived long enough to do all the things I always wanted to, and find new ones. An unsavory beginning is an acceptable price for what I have gained."

A crash from downstairs stopped our embrace and Sanura sighed heavily, getting up to make herself a new drink, downing the remainder of the first. "I can't deal with his bullshit on an empty stomach. I'm going out for an hour. Stay up here."

I think she just needed to get away from me and the memories I had just stirred up. I didn't mind. I saw her off with a smile and curled up in my spot on the couch. Could I survive something like that? I had been through trauma, yes, but never torture. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to live in agony for months. What it must be like to spend every day terrified of what your captor might do next. I shuddered at the thought.

A scream echoed up through the house, followed by a frightened, feminine stream of words. I sat up straight to listen as there was more crashing and another cry. My anger ignited. After hearing what Sanura had been through and knowing that Isaac had been a part of it at all made my fists clench tightly at my sides. I stood quickly and marched to the door, throwing it open and following the sounds of a violent struggle down into the main entrance hall.

I paused halfway down the great staircase and found myself clutching at the banister. I hadn't been close to the twin staircases for these three days, not wanting to deal with Isaac's horrors. I hadn't known what exactly he was doing, but the bodies were a clue. Pale, graying bodies, in various stages of rot, strewn about the marble floor, and some up the staircases. There were about 6 of them, all drained, _some_ intact.

I stepped over a young man who had clearly tried to crawl up the stairs in escape, but his arm had been snapped at the bone and torn away, his throat ripped open and spilling half of his blood into the carpet. The further I got toward the lounge between the staircases, the thicker the fetid stench of rot poured in on me and I was forced to hold my hand over my mouth. Apparently the upstairs rooms were remarkably insulated, I hadn't smelled a thing from there, now I wished I couldn't.

"I promise!" A girl cried out followed by a crash and her scream, "_Please_ I won't tell anyone! I swear, I'll forget you and this place."

I pushed open the door and stood there a moment to take in the scene. There were more bodies in here. 2 men and 3 girls, some on the couches near the fire, some sprawled on the floor. Isaac was crouched down in front of a cowering red head. Her arms were up around her head and she pressed herself into the corner as if she might pass through the wall through sheer force of will. The vampire was smiling, his hands planted against the walls on either side of her to trap her in. From what I could see the room was trashed, and she was covered in bruises and bleeding gashes.

"But I _want_ you to remember me." He said, his voice a menacing mimic of friendship. "Why else would I have kept you for last?"

"You killed her," she hissed. "_All _these people. What is _wrong_ with you?"

"That _is_ the question, isn't it." I stepped over another corpse to move into the room, arms crossed over my chest, half in irritation, half just to hold myself for comfort.

Isaac had gone very stiff over the girl, but he was smiling wider now and she was staring at me in fear and hope. She wondered if I was here to rescue her, or just another one of the monsters.

"Mira." The vampire purred, standing slowly and turning to face me. The girl immediately crawled off to the couch to hide beside it and away from him, panting in fear.

"You finally came out of hiding. I was beginning to think you would live up there." His eyes scanned slowly over me, but they were black, like a hungry shark's. Empty and heartless. His fangs were out as well, sharp as needles and curved like a snake. He was still wearing his suit, though the jacket was missing. His shirt was black, but I could still see the blood stains on him. The now heavy material clung to his torso accentuating his body, but for once I wasn't interested.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded motioning toward the girl.

Isaac shrugged, moving to the couch beside me and flopping down onto the cushions with a laugh, "Just getting to know Macey and her friend here." He wrapped his arm around the pale body of a dark haired girl. Her corpse was limp in his hold and he shook her once with another intoxicated chuckle. "She didn't have it in her, I'm afraid, so you can't meet her. Lovely girl though, played the violin just like Mace. I offered them lessons. I'm incredible with a violin you know. I don't think I've ever showed you."

"You sound drunk." I stated watching him stretch out on the couch, leaving red stains in the crème fabric.

"That's because I _am_ drunk." He turned a curious look on another girl who was dead on the floor. "I might even be a little high. I think that one might have been on a substantial dose of _something_."

"Well I think you've had enough of all of it." I said, looking over the room again in disgust. "And I think you need to let her go."

Isaac let his head fall back against the couch with an irritated growl. "Ugh, are you really going to be as much of a buzz-kill as Sanura? Go back to your land, she-devil, our borders are now closed to you."

With a heavy sigh I moved to the couch to stand over him looking down with an arched brow. "do you really want to stay down here alone?"

"I'm not alone, I've got Masey," He motioned vaguely toward the girl who curled further into herself at the attention. She was watching me closely though, now that I had made it clear I wanted her to get away.

"Macey is going home, Isaac."

The vampire's eyes snapped to mine and he sat up on his elbows. "She can't go home, Mira. She knows what I am, and even if she didn't, she's seen me kill too many people to stay quiet about it."

"That's your fault." I snapped back, but he only stared at me.

"I plan on fixing the situation very soon."

From her place against the wall, Macey let out a quiet sob, covering her face. I clenched my jaw a moment, wanting to beat the vampire, but knowing it would do nothing but rile him up. And so I decided on a new tactic.

"So this is your plan? Keep bringing people back here to kill them? Are you at least going to clean up the house?"

He grinned, lying back down across the couch with an arm over his eyes. "As my father would say, housework is a woman's job. I figure when it gets bad enough you girls will stop waiting on me and clean it up yourselves."

There was a crystal bottle of bourbon sitting on the end table above him. I grabbed it and lobbed the crystal cork at him before emptying the bottle over his head. Isaac jumped into a sitting position with a curse, batting the bottle out of my hand and across the room where it exploded against the wall. Macey screamed at the noise and began a new round of louder sobs that were starting to grade on my patience. I watched the vampire sling bourbon from his hands and hair a moment until he turned his eyes up to me and grabbed my waist.

I let out a startled cry at first, being lifted off my feet and thrown down on the couch. Isaac followed to pin me there, his knee between my legs and a fist on either side of my head. From this new position the girl was behind me and my full attention was on the black-eyed vampire.

"What is your problem?" he demanded, though I simply shrugged.

"I figure it's better than all the other things you're covered in. Hell you're probably a little cleaner now."

"Did you really come down here to yell at me?"

"Mostly, yeah." I shoved him back, happy that he allowed me to sit up a little against the couch arm and glare at him. "I thought I might come down and ask if you're ready to stop throwing this little tantrum and be a big boy again."

Isaac laughed at my boldness and shook his head. "And what do big boys get for their trouble exactly? I've got to be honest, I can't think of anything that would be as fun as all this."

I tilted my head and smiled at my opening, resting my hand against his chest and slowly trailing it down to the waist of his rumbled black slacks. "I don't know about _that_." For a moment he only stared at me, but then a smile crept across his face and I felt a thrill at having gotten his attention.

He pushed me down on the couch, dipping his head to brush his lips across my throat. It might have even turned me on if I couldn't feel his fangs grazing across the sensitive flesh. It would take so little for him to break the skin with them so sharp and the thought made me shiver.

"Wait, Isaac," I began trailing off when I realized I had nothing to say and my mind was racing too fast to think about it. "I…umm…"

"You umm..." he repeated softly, teasing me and his teeth found the hollow below my ear. Another shiver raced up my spine and he bit down until I tensed up stiffly, chuckling into my hair. The red head I could see against the wall behind me through the reflective surface of the glass trophy case against the far wall. She was crouched down, slowly inching toward the door. And with Isaac now facing her I could understand her nervousness. She found my eyes in the glass and went still, frightened that I would give her away, but I motioned toward the door instead and after a moment of starring at me, she began to inch toward it again.

The vampire kissed my throat, lighting the scar there on fire, "You're shaking." He said slowly. I swallowed hard and tried to keep my voice steady.

"It's just that that feels…_intense_." I closed my eyes a moment and clutched at the backs of his arms for support.

"Oh?" Isaac chuckled softly dipping his head down to nip the flesh of my scar with his teeth. It hummed with electricity as if he'd plucked the string of a guitar, vibrating throughout my body, and I let out a soft sound of surprise and pleasure.

"And that?" he asked against my lips. I tried to kiss him, but he only smiled, pulling back just far enough that I couldn't reach him, though my breath was mingling with his occasional cool exhales. "Was that _intense_?"

"Mm-hmm." I nodded, wrapping my hands around the back of his neck to pull him down, but he was fighting me. This was frustrating not only because I wanted to kiss him now, but because I feared that he would see the girl at any moment.

So using his immovable self to drag myself up, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him with everything I could muster. Isaac made a soft sound of humor in the back of his throat but I nipped his bottom lip and gained his full attention. His arm slipped around my back, drawing me flush against his body, the other remained braced against the arm of the couch above my head. As he slid me back down onto the cushions, I wrapped my fingers around that arm, enjoying the feel of his bicep beneath the cool skin. His tongue slipped past my teeth and found mine, hungrily demanding that I respond, and I did. My hands went up to his chest, smoothing across the skin once I'd slipped them under his shirt. Over his shoulder I watched Macey pushing the door open and begin to sneak out and finally I felt myself relaxing completely. I smiled against Isaac's mouth, raking one hand of nails down his chest and enjoying the way it made him shudder. The wood behind my head cracked with a loud splintering sound as his grip on the couch arm tightened. I almost felt a swell of pride at this, until I felt him shift.

There was a cry of pain and something hit the floor heavily. Isaac broke our kiss to stare over my shoulder, "You're not going _anywhere._" He snapped, then turned his black eyes back to me with a charming smile, "And _you, _you should really work on your distraction techniques." He kissed my cheek and pushed off the couch to move toward the sobbing Macey. Now that I could look at her directly I could see that he'd ripped a chunk of the wood from the couch and thrown it at her, burying it in her right leg. I watched him kneel down and wrench out the wood, tossing it across the floor and watching impassively as she screamed and curled into a feeble ball of wailing.

"I _told_ you you're going to die here. That silly thing can't save you, precious. You're on your own, and you know what?" He leaned in close, grabbing the back of her head by her hair to speak directly to her. "I'm getting hungry again."

"Please don't," she wailed, reaching up to clamp her hands around her throat, "Please don't kill me."

"But I _have_ to." He insisted, wrenching her hands away and holding them together between them at the wrists. "I don't trust you, Mace. It's not your fault, you're a good girl and you would tell everyone about me. It's the right thing to do." He sighed, "It really is a shame though. You were a beautiful violin player."

She screamed when he dragged her close and closed his mouth over her throat. He was much more gentle than I'd anticipated, which is why I found myself staring for so long, but after another of the girl's sobs, I sprang to my feet and grabbed the chunk of sharpened wood Isaac had tossed aside. He didn't notice me in time to stop my burying it in his left shoulder.

The vampire tensed and shoved Macey away, ripping out her throat as he did. He turned to me, black eyes narrowing and I stumbled back a step staring between him and the quickly dying violinist on the floor. It was too late for her, but suddenly I found myself much more interested in my own safety.

"Mira," Isaac began slowly standing and reaching around to grab the wood. "That was _very_ rude."

He ripped the wood out of his shoulder with a grunt and crushed it into splinters after, watching me and working his shoulder. I pressed back against the lounge room door, eyes going wide. I was shaking now at the look he was giving me. Hungry and angry and terrifying.

"You know, I didn't want to tell you before, but you've changed." He stood over the dull-eyed Macey and pushed at her with the toe of his black shoe. Seeing that she was finished, he stepped over the body and moved toward me.

"The dogs were right you know. You're scent, ever since the god took you, it's been different. There's something about it, about you that is so _enticing_."

"Back off, Isaac." I said opening the lounge door behind me and stumbling out into the main room. He only smiled, following me as I turned and ran.

"I'm hungry again, Mira. It's strange; _thinking_ of you makes me hungry now." I had made it to the front hall and grabbed the railings of the second staircase. Isaac was strolling out of the lounge after me, indifferent to my fear and attempted escape. "When I think of the way you smell…and when you're in the room_ beside_ me? Jesus I want to take you right on the first surface I see. I want to ride you until your body crumbles in my hands and drink every last bit of that wonderful blood from your body."

"Stop it." I snapped but he was ignoring me. Before I could make it up the stairs and to my respective border, Isaac grabbed my arm and wrenched me back down. I fell to the hard marble floor with a curse, and quickly scurried away, but found myself pressed up against the wall. Isaac moved at a slow deliberate pace then, sliding down onto one knee and reaching out to touch my face, though I tried to turn away.

"The wolves aren't the only ones that go a little crazy for your scent, Mira. I never told you because I knew it would only make you scared of me again. I know why those wolves attacked you. I _feel_ it. You're different, you smell like everything I've ever dreamed of tasting, Sanura feels it too." He leaned down to breathe deep in my hair and smiled against my throat when he nuzzled against it. "I want to fuck you and eat you. Sometimes I imagine the ways I might do it, sneaking into your room while you're sleeping, or simply taking you, it's not as if you could fight me off."

I shoved at him with an angry cry but he didn't budge and only laughed at me.

"See?" I felt his cool breath on my neck, his hands wrapping around my wrists and pinning them to the wall to keep me still. He was warmer than he should have been with the blood of a dozen different victims in him. There were tears in my eyes now, but he didn't seem to care, he was crazed now with bloodlust and I was only making it worse. "Is it the God's blood inside you now? Is that why you taste like sunlight? What would happen if I drained you, I wonder?" he pulled back to search my eyes with a smile, licking his lips in anticipation, "Would that power pass to me?"

"Isaac let go, you're hurting me."

"It's what I'm good at." He replied simply, gathering my wrists in one hand between us so that he could sweep the long hair from my shoulder, running his finger up the column of my throat.

The vampire dipped his head down again, kissing the spot he intended to bite softly and leaving behind a whisper of heated excitement. A reaction that came solely from my scar. He was playing on them again, to distract me or keep me still, I wasn't sure, but I could feel it at my throat and wrist, a pulse that shuddered down to my core against my will.

"You should have listened to Sanura you know, stayed away from me." He murmured against my skin, while I panted in fear, trembling in his hold. "I don't _want_ to kill you Mira. I like you. I just can't control myself anymore, and you smell so _good_."

"Isaac stop." I said, my voice weak and frightened now, "Please don't."

"Hush." He whispered, kissing my throat again and grazing his fangs along the sensitive flesh, "It won't hurt for long. I can even make you like it. You _know_ that."

"No." I squeaked, trying to sink down away from him, but he lifted me up and pinned me against the wall again, and I felt the first prick of his fangs.

"Just a taste, Mira. Just let me have a little. I'll do my best to stop."

I felt his fingers on my side, trailing down to the hem of my shirt and slipping beneath the thin material. I whimpered, not meaning to, but unable to stop the fear that he might do more than just kill me. After hearing about his days with Daniel the psychopath, I really didn't know what to expect from him anymore.

Isaac's fingers brushed across my stomach and the slashes that Tate the werewolf had given me, but when he touched them he went still. The vampire frowned, lifting my gathered wrists above my head to hold me still while he grabbed the front of my shirt and ripped it down the middle.

"What are you doing?" I demanded in outrage and fear, but Isaac onl stared at the wounds, drawing his finger along the sensitive edge.

"You're healing." He said softly, tilting his head to inspect them further.

"Of course I am. Now let me g-"

"No." his voice snapped out and he narrowed his eyes. "It's only been a few days and already the wounds have closed. Your skin is yellowed with bruising but that shouldn't have started for at least another week." His black eyes lifted to mine and he smiled a slow and frightening smile. "You're healing faster than you should Mira. Why didn't you tell me the god gave you power like this?"

I frowned, eyes wide. His grip on my wrists had tightened and he was leaning in close to me again, making me nervous. "I didn't know." I said truthfully, and he chuckled.

"Of course you didn't. You don't know much of anything, do you?"

"Isaac…"

"No matter, I'm curious what will happen when I feast on you." He grinned, "Care to find out?"

"Isaac, _stop_ it."

But he wasn't listening anymore, not that he had been at all. The vampire leaned down, pinning my wrists against the wall when I started to struggle, though I could have never broken free of his hold unless he wanted me to. He seemed to have finished playing with me now, and his black eyes were focused on my throat. I screamed when he forced my head to the side, ignoring the soft hushes he murmured against me when he'd leaned in to kiss my trembling flesh. I couldn't help thinking that I'd overestimated my ability to control the vampire, or the idea that I could at all. Now with his brain working like a starving animal's he was beyond my reasoning, and therefore I was screwed.

It hurt at first when he bit me, and I cried out against him, though he clamped his hand down over my mouth when I did. It didn't stop me from crying out though. He'd ripped down into the very muscle of my throat, rolling the tendons and shooting fire down into my body. My racing heart only pumped my blood to him faster as I struggled weakly against him and made the vampire groan softly in pleasure against me.

He stopped to smile down at me, my blood staining his teeth bright red and uncovered my mouth to grasp my jaw and hold my face still. "You taste divine, little girl. Would you like to see?"

He didn't give me a chance to answer before he'd leaned down and kissed me. He filled my mouth with my own blood and I gagged on the thick warm liquid, trying again to shove at him or beat him away, but he was immovable and only laughed at my attempts.

"I can almost feel the god's presence in your blood, Mira. I can taste his power in you." He nuzzled against my throat again, drawing his tongue over the wound to catch the blood that was trailing from it. I could see the strain of red in the torn material of my shirt now, and wondered if he'd torn out my throat as well, and how long I had before I died of blood loss.

When he bit me again, I only had the strength to let out a soft snivel. A whimper of fear and pain that he simply drank down with everything else and smiled at hatefully. His teeth clamped down harder in his growing fervor, making me groan and cry out each time he jerked at my flesh, tearing into me and forcing more blood to spill out into his mouth. It was getting colder now, and the feeling of him presse against me was warmer than it should have been. I told myself that this meant I had lost more blood than I should have. That I was dying.

"Isaac…" I managed to get out with a shaky breath. He didn't stop eating.

"Mmhmm?"

"You…you have to…_ahh, stop_." I closed my eyes tightly at the pain as he ripped deeper into my throat, "Please stop."

"I'm sorry Mira." He said softly, pausing in his feast to kiss my cheek and leave behind a bloody lip print, "I told you I could only try. I can't stop."

"_**You will**_." The voice was a boom that echoed throughout the entire main hall and made Isaac stiffen above me. Before he could turn to see the speaker however, he was being wrenched away from me. I watched the vampire as he flew back across the room and smashed into the wall above the staircase, cracking the wood with his impact. He fell down against the stairs with a loud thump and rolled down the rest of the way to the marble floors with a groan, pushing himself onto his back.

My eyes followed this before slowly lifting up to the god who stood above me with a furious scowl. He reached down and grabbed the ruined edges of my shirt to lift me up to my feet, prodding at the huge opening in my neck and growling deep in the back of his throat. I didn't know how to react. He was here, away from Windsor forest and right here in Isaac's manor! What the hell was going on?

"Can you speak?" he asked me after he'd laid his hand across the room and filled it with healing warmth. It burned a moment and o swallowed against the pain, but nodded. "Did it attack you?"

I was exhausted now and found myself nodding. Cernnunos nodded once in response and set me gently down on the staircase turning to the vampire who had just begun to push himself off the floor, spitting blood onto the marble with a soft curse.

"Then it will suffer." Cern said and suddenly he was across the room and grabbing Isaac by the throat, lifting him off the floor. I could only watch as he lifted him high into the air and slammed him back down into the marble, cracking the stone with the vampire's body.

"Oh shit." I said softly when I realized that Cern was just getting started.

* * *

**Originally, I had planned for this entire encounter to be one chapter, but when I got to this point and saw how long it was already, I decided to break it in half and give you the next bit later. The next chapter will have the questions and answers you've all been wondering about. Cern will tell Mira a few of the things she's ready to know and Isaac…well…you'll see.**

**I feel like Josep's death unhinged him a little more than anyone anticipated. He's going to be a little off now. A little more like the Isaac you all met in the beginning. **


	36. AN

**I've gotten many "Please Post' messages as of late. I realize it's been a long time now and I wanted to let all of you know that i will finish this story. i love writing it and the characters have become so strong in my head, that i couldn't ignore their desire to be typed out if i wanted too.**

**The truth is I've recently lost a close friend and dealing with that has made writing anything impossible. At first i couldn't get out a single word, but now it's helping me to distract myself. I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out, but i can promise that it WILL be out, that this story WILL be finished. For now that's all i can tell you.**


	37. Illectamentum

I could feel Cern in the room, as if his energy was crackling out around him in his anger. It swelled around me as Isaac was wrenched off the broken marble floor and lifted up into the air by what seemed invisible hands. The same hands that had once dragged me through the forest, I imagined. I watched in stunned silence as the vampire was stretched out, his arms out at his sides as if he were nailed to a cross and he let out a sound of pain, his eyes going wide. Cern didn't physically touch him, but he was cutting into him regardless. A deep gash ripped itself through his shirt and chest, opening him to the white bone of his sternum, and blood, dark and shimmering oddly in the light, splashed down onto the marble below him.

The god didn't stop there. Suddenly, Isaac was flying passed me to crash into the wall, smashing through the dark wood, and plaster came crumpling down on the floor. For a moment I could only stare, reaching out to touch his arm, but he was suddenly being dragged back to the center of the huge room at Cern's feet. More deep gashes opened themselves across his body, spilling out blood and his cries of pain. One of the gashes ran the length of his abdomen, down to the bone again, and I covered my mouth to muffle a cry when I watched one of his ribs snap right in front of me. Then another, and another, and then his arm cracked to an awkward angle, and he let out another hoarse sound of agony.

I had never heard Isaac in real pain, and I had to admit the sound was unsettling. It twisted my stomach, but at the sight of the many bodies he had left behind I found myself wondering if it wasn't a little bit of karma finally making its way back to him. Despite whether he deserved it or not, I did not enjoy watching him suffer, nor the empty expression on the god's face as he inflicted the toture.

Cern let out a growl, deep, menacing, and inhuman and Isaac sputtered, blood exploding from his mouth in a spray that would have misted across the god if the droplets hadn't evaporated on contact. Cern lifted his hand, his palm turned toward the floor, and slowly moved it down. As he did, Isaac was crushed against the marble slowly. I watched as his chest seemed to compact down into itself and the marble beneath him began to crack under the pressure.

"Enough Cernnunos." I said suddenly, surprising myself by being able to speak at all.

The god's blazing, antifreeze colored eyes snapped up to me and the force that bore down on Isaac vanished. The vampire coughed wetly and slung himself onto his side. With his broken arm cradled against his chest, he pushed himself slowly onto his knees, sagging, and clenched his jaw. With a swift jerk, he swung his broken arm around, cracking the bone back into place and spat a large amount of blood onto the floor. His eyes were on Cern, still black, and now deep and furious, but as he moved to advance on the god, his body gave beneath him and he crumpled back onto the floor with a curse, rolling onto his back. His expression was one of confusion, and the god sneered above him.

"I have stopped you from speedily mending yourself leech. You will suffer your injuries as all of your victims."

"_Oh_?" Isaac managed to groan, blood splattering out down his chin. I had wrapped my arms around myself now, eyes still wide and frightened as Cern turned his glowing gaze back on me and began to move toward me.

"He attacked me." I said softly. I was struggling to remember the anger I had felt before Cern had arrived and turned Isaac into a lump of broken flesh. The fear, however, was strong and fresh. Isaac hadn't restrained himself. Hadn't even tried, he'd simply come after me. "He actually _attacked _me."

"You are lucky I chose now to look in on you, human. He would have_ killed_ you as well."

"Liar," Isaac laughed, but he began coughing too heavily to speak again.

A flash of rage went through me, white hot and so fierce that it made me tremble. My fists opened and closed at my sides as I processed his words. The fact that he was asking for my praise when he saved my life, and thinking back to when I had called to him and been _ignored_. Now Isaac had tried to eat me, as if I was one of his common _snacks_, and I couldn't help the hurt that came with that realization, though it was ridiculous. I had actually begun to think that the vampire cared for me in some way, that he would protect me. He certainly acted as if he cared for me at times, or was he simply playing a part? Was he only pretending as he had in the beginning? If that was the case, I wouldn't be able to stand what an idiot I was.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. Despite my anger there was a glimmer of selfish hope that he was changed in some way, that his actions had not been his own and that this was all a big mistake, though the healing wound on my throat would suggest otherwise.

"An emotional response to something, I would assume," Cern replied coolly stopping in front of me and crushing that hope. "These creatures are very sensitive, despite the parts they like to play. Everything about their person has been heightened, their senses _and_ emotions. When they lose control of themselves, they can be quite destructive." Cern turned back to me. "In his vulnerable state, he could not resist you it seems. I'm sure next time he will reconsider."

From his place on the floor Isaac flipped the god off, but Cern didn't seem to catch it, or was ignoring it for now.

"You drew his attention amidst a frenzy," Cern continued. "The leech has gone _rabid_, blood-drunk."

"Is it permanent?" I asked my eyes were locked on Isaac. He was lying on his back, eyes closed and rigid with pain. The brief show of pride had withered away the moment his arm hit the floor.

"It can be. Consuming blood overwhelms the vampire with euphoria." He glanced around the room, "By the count of corpses, I'd imagine his pain was substantial." He chuckled to himself, glancing back at the vampire, "At least it is now."

"So you're telling me Isaac isn't off his rocker yet and that he'll be back to normal?"

"More or less."

I nodded, taking this in and letting the panic finally subside. Then with a deep breath I turned back to Cern,

And **slapped** the bastard.

The god didn't know what to do at first. His head hadn't turned with the blow as I'd expected, and now my hand throbbed as if I'd punched a solid wall of marble. He simply stood there, staring down at me in confusion. I didn't give him a chance to go into a rage, not when I was due one first.

"_You let them hurt me_." I growled out, hands balled into fists. "I called for you, for **help**, and you _ignored _me. What the hell is wrong with you? They were going to _rape_ me Cern! And you were just going to stand by and-"

"_Silence_." He said suddenly, cutting me off with fury in his tone, though I didn't know what exactly he was angry at. For me or the fact that I'd hit him. "You were attacked?"

"More than _attacked_. If it hadn't been for the other wolves I would have-"

"You were in the company of _werewolves_?" His eyes narrowed and he turned his head to Isaac who let out a groan of pain. "And your leech allowed them to_ molest_ you?" There was a loud crack and Isaac curled around himself a moment, but when he collapsed back onto the floor I could see another of his ribs had been snapped and was pushing against his side, pressing up on the pale skin as if it might burst through at any moment.

"No, he wasn't there. He had to leave me with them."

"He _left_ you with werewolves?" Isaac made another sound of agony and rolled onto his back, spitting blood onto the floor as something else inside of him was broken.

"Not by choice, it was a whole big thing. He-"

"_Mira_," Isaac said suddenly, his voice strained with pain, "For fuck's sake, stop _talking_!"

"You be quiet." I snapped at him. "_You_ tried to** eat** me. You deserve a little pain for once."

"I'll be happy to return the favor." He hissed, and then let out a groan when Cern slammed his body down into the marble, widening the cracks and splitting the flesh on his skull. Deep red rushed down the side of his face and dripped off his chin onto the floor and he went obediently silent.

"Threaten her again and I will kill you here, vampire, regardless of her feelings for you." Cern's eyes were bright and glowing in his anger, casting light over all that he surveyed, "You were entrusted with this girl's safety and you have _failed_. You've begun to mistakenly believe that she is yours, when you are but her guardian. I am of mind to take her away from you."

"You're not taking me anywhere." I snapped, stepping back away from him. "As far as I'm concerned the _both_ of you can go fuck yourselves."

That garnered an arched look from the god, but I didn't bother censoring myself anymore. Not when he had proven that he didn't give a shit about me. "Isaac's fuck-ups aren't the point."

"Gee thanks." The vampire muttered through his clenched teeth, but we ignored him now.

"You ignored me Cernnunos. For once I called to you for help and you _ignored_ me. You're supposed to keep me safe."

"You make such things extremely difficult when you _continuously_ put yourself in danger." He snapped back just as quickly.

"All the danger I've known is because of you and Isaac. How the hell was I supposed to know that the wolves would want to eat me alive more than the vampires?"

The room was crackling with his energy again. He stared at me now like he never had before, enraged by my claim and my anger toward him, and something I didn't understand. I was furious yes, but I wasn't making anymore stupid mistakes tonight like slapping him or baiting Isaac, so I didn't push him. He closed his eyes a moment drawing in a deep breath.

"What the hell is wrong with you now?" I demanded unintentionally, and then silently scolded myself for not following my 'no screw ups' rule seconds after making it. Then again, this was me, when did I _not_ fuck things up for myself?

"This place," he said, his eyes shifting from one corner of the room to the next. He didn't seem himself; the cool confidence that always enveloped him was gone. He was tensed and agitated, which probably didn't mean anything good for me.

"What's wrong with it?" I looked around, trying to see what he did, but it was only Isaac's front hall; A huge entrance room with great twin staircases the curved up along the side walls and a set of double doors on the first floor between them. Art that spoke of a morbid collector through scenes of torment, witch burnings, and demons feasting on the poor humans at their feet. A floor of light marble in patterned diamonds. It was nothing but an obscenely rich and eccentric man's house.

Cern didn't agree.

"How do you stand it?" he asked, opening and closing his fists at his sides. The light in his eyes was growing brighter, as it had before the Fae. The green glow cast dimly across the marble as he gazed at it.

"Stand what?"

"How do you stand this confinement? Walls, closing in on _everything_. I can hardly stretch my jaws." He turned, eyes scanning across the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Everywhere, as if he were locked in a cage and searching for his freedom. When he spoke again, his teeth were sharp and savage. "Even the _air_ is thin. Lifeless. How do you** breathe** here?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but had nothing to say. What did one say to that? I recalled his temple, how the halls had been vast. The bedroom had been enormous, the ceiling open and stretching off into the sky as if they had been one. Had it been for more than his vanity?

_I can hardly stretch my jaws. _The comment suddenly made me shudder.

The air around us had begun to vibrate and thicken, all emanating from him. His agitation swelled around him to electrify the air, and the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood on end. The pressure would only grow, and in this room with him, I was beginning to understand his agitation. Now _I _couldn't breathe. I was too heavy and the longer we stayed the worse it would get. I jumped into motion, grabbing his hand, though he flinched at the contact, and pulled him toward the door.

"Calm down. We'll just go outside."

As if on cue, my next step was into the grass of Isaac's vast front lawn. I took a moment to reorient myself, letting Cern pull from my grasp. He closed his eyes, head leaning back to take a deep breath of the fresh air. As he exhaled, the pressure that built around him began to dissipate and I was free to breathe freely as well.

"OK." I said, watching him as he gazed up at the sky, the light in his eyes dimming to its usual muted glow. "So now I have to ask," I couldn't help my smile at having witnessed the closest thing to a god's panic attack, "are you _claustrophobic_?"

His attention snapped back to me, his eyes flashing in warning. "Do not insult me. I am no spineless human, and I do not_ fear_ confinement."

"Uh-huh." I nodded, holding up the hands of surrender. "Then what was _that_?"

He growled softly, but the irritation bled from his expression. "You made me…angry, and excited my atoms into frenzied motion. My form, this _shape, _it is not what it was. It appears smaller, but…" He stared intently at the ground a long moment. "My energy is too great to reside in such a small space. It is possible, and will bring me no real harm, but…uncomfortable."

"Back to the 'shape is not my shape' part," I said, frowning. "Are you telling me that the way I see you isn't _real_?" A shudder passed down my spine at the thought. "But I…we _slept_ together! If you aren't **this **then what the hell _do_ you look like?" I clenched my fists, unaffected by the intensity of his gaze, "Show me."

"I cannot." He replied evenly.

"Oh god." I said, stomach turning, "You're crazy looking aren't you? Bumpy or scaled or…" my eyes snapped open wide and I stared at him, "Please tell me you aren't a tenticled slime-thing. I don't do well with oozing fluids." I had a horrible flash of myself in one of those disgusting Japanese hentais of girl's being molested by great tenticled beasts. He tilted his head slightly, frowning at my panicked tone. I opened my mouth to continue my fearful rant, but he spoke over me.

"I am **Power**." He said, and the air crackled with his energy again as if to prove it. "I am your earth and your oceans. When the wind blows your trees, they sing _my_ name. I am the sun and the stars. Life and Death, and I am not_ limited_ to any single form."

"But-"

"This face is not my face, and yet it is." He lifted his hand, starring down at his fingers as if they were foreign, "In this place, on this plane, I appear as Man, because you wish it so."

I jumped when his eyes snapped back up to me, the glow returning to them like back-lit absinth. "You all claim that faith is all you need but you have always given a face to that which you worship, so your minds give _me_ form. Force and compact me into a body that isn't my own. You give me a face that you can love, something you can admire. Pretty and pleasant, but it has never been mine. _**I**_ am magnificent, and forever, stretching to the ends of time and curling back again. I am beyond any physical form, _this_," he motioned to encompass his body, "is simply what I must become to walk among you."

"So that's a no to the slime?"

"Mira." He said simply, exasperated, as if he had the right to be short with me now, and I clenched my fists again, a spark of irritation reigniting my rage. He'd distracted me with his panic attack, but now I was back to the anger, back to betrayal and fury that he would leave me to horror and death without so much as a batted eyelash.

"You told me this ring was for protection once," I said holding up my hand. "It did **nothing**. _You_ did nothing."

After a long moment the god sighed and to my utter shock, went down on one knee in front of me, bowing his head. "You are not wrong. Forgive me Mira. I promised that you would be protected and I have neglected this responsibility."

My mouth bobbed a moment, nearly spilling out an acceptance for his apology from shock, but I quickly bit it back. I understood the magnitude of this gesture, that a _God _would lower himself to kneel at _my_ feet was no small thing. While it astounded me, I couldn't help the bitter edge in my gut. I crossed my arms, but my voice wasn't edged anymore. "Why didn't you save me?"

Cern's anti-freeze colored eyes trailed up to mine and he sighed, "I was…otherwise engaged."

"You had more important things to do." I translated, clearly displeased by the thought.

The god stood then, taking my hand. "Do not twist my words, little one, I did not ignore you. I know you believe me to be omniscient, but I have my faults, as _few_ as they are." I tried to pull from his grasp at that, but he jerked me back into place and took my other hand. "The truth is I neglected many duties in my slumber. Some which I should have passed to those that remained watchful, but my pride would not allow it. In my absence I have let things slip into chaos. I was righting these mistakes when you called for me. My focus was on these tasks, and your call was lost among the thousands of voices that speak my name. Forgive me. It will not happen again."

I stared at him a long time until finally I growled out a noise of frustration and accepted that this was the best apology I would get from the god. More so I was irritated that this excuse was so damned logical and I could not contest it with petty things like my single tiny human life.

"Fine." I snapped, this time when I pulled away from him, he allowed it and I crossed my arms again. "But you owe me _answers_ Cern. Right now. Since you seem so forthcoming tonight, no more dodging."

"That is acceptable. I will tell you what I can." He nodded slowly, watching me closely. I decided to start small.

"The wolves called you the Green Man. They seemed to worship you as their god." He nodded, "And then one of them touched my ring and it…changed, or moved, or _something_."

He shrugged, "That ring is forged of the fires of my being. It is a part of me gifted to you. Its change was nothing more than a reaction to what is also of me."

"_Of you_?" I repeated with a frown, "What do you mean?"

"You must understand that the creatures that exist in this world did not simply spring up into being. They were the work of higher powers and…curiosity. There was a time when I was angry with human life, the stink and the cruelty in it, angry that despite his every advantage, Man desired more. He could turn everything he touched into ruin. Man attacked my forests, I had been happy to allow him the use of my green to build his homes and protect his family, but he had grown avaricious. He lost his respect for my gifts and took what he wanted without gratitude, as if he was owed my blessings for simply _existing_."

Cern sighed heavily and glanced at the tree line, far off to the left of the property. "I wondered for a time if I might improve man. I gathered a small number of humans together, and I…_experimented_. I gave them the keen instinct of my beloved forest animals. Heightened their senses, their agility. I wanted to build myself a race of soldiers to protect my green, that would love it as I did. Wolves have always held a certain appeal to me. Fierce and loyal and strong. I decided that Man could learn from their example and so I crafted him a second form. I gave him the gift of change."

"Are you telling me that you _created_ werewolves?" The awed shock in my tone made the god smile and he nodded once.

"Among other things. They were my children, and my great achievement," his smile faded, "but they disappointed me. The beast in them only amplified their human natures. I realized that I had only succeeded in giving Man an easier way to destroy, so I gave my creations a weakness, I twisted what had been a gift into a disease and stole away the ease with which they had shifted form, replacing it with agony. Only those that were strong enough, in body and in mind could survive my gift. Should those that were prove themselves unworthy, I whispered the secret to those I trusted. Silver, used to purify the blood, was now a lethal poison. I had hoped that my mistake might be rectified when they died away, but I had made my children too strong. They endured, and have to this day."

"Couldn't you just snap your fingers and make them all dead?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"There are rules to creation. Despite the failure of a species, I cannot simply destroy them. Why else would Man still roam this earth if he could have been so easily crushed by his maker?"

"Who made Man?" I asked eagerly, but Cern only smiled slyly and remained silent. I huffed at this, kicking the dirt below me, and then looked back up at him, "So you created the Fae as well then, since you call them your 'children' too?"

His smile faded slightly at that. "The Fae were a collaboration of sorts. Experimentations preformed by other curious powers. I contributed to a strain or two of their race, but many were hatched through the coupling of Man and Demon. I took them under my protection because they were so closely tied to the Earth as my wolves were, and their makers had abandoned them, but they are not entirely mine, and most I would have preferred never to have existed at all."

"If they aren't really yours why do they worship you? Why do they all stay in that forest?" I recalled what the tiny werewolf children had said, about the Green Man locking the Fae away in Windsor forest so they couldn't hurt anyone.

Cern sighed. "That is not all of the Fae, Mira. Those you saw were of the _Unseelie _court, the malicious and the hateful. They reside in Windsor because I have caged them there."

"Then why would they worship you?" I asked again.

"Because I have also given them great gifts. You only saw the smallest part of the forest, but it stretches on endlessly. I created replicas of their homes, free of the humans they despised. It would be impossible for a human to walk the entirety of that forest, but if you could you would find yourself in every corner of the world, every terrain. I gave them a home where they could no longer cause mischief, and gave them the right to any human who might wonder into their trees."

"Well that's shitty of you." I frowned.

"It was better than the alternative, Mira. I have saved your race from horror. The forest is warded, it isn't often that a human finds themselves inside of it; generally they are overwhelmed by a fear they cannot explain that tells them to run. Those too ignorant to listen to this warning, I consider beyond my help and free game to the Fae within the trees."

I recalled the night Isaac had driven us into the forest. The way my every instinct had screamed that I run far away and never look back, that there were things in the trees that wished to harm me, and would if I entered. If I hadn't been in the car, I don't think I would have been able to enter the forest on my own, out of fear. Knowing that this had been Cern's doing was slightly comforting.

"So what is an _Un-see-_whatever?" I asked. I'd settled myself down in the grass now, indicating that I was ready for a long conversation and that he had better get ready too. The god watched me a moment, before sighing heavily.

The grass beneath me rumbled, trembling under me and I scrambled back up to my feet as roots, thick and smooth wound themselves up from the ground, curling themselves into sort of chair. I stared at it a moment, arching a brow before tentatively taking a seat as he grew another chair across from mine. They were much like the throne he had erected in the clearing.

Sometimes I think he just liked showing off for me.

"Thank you," I sighed running my fingers through my hair and realizing it was a mess of tangles. My fingers trailed down to the mark on my throat, now just sore skin, where Isaac had bit me. Isaac had commented on my healing, and for a moment I turned my attention to my bared torso and the red lines that should have been healing gashes. Remembering that my shirt was very ruined and hanging open.

"Can you…fix this, or something?" I asked gently and the god gave a slow nod, but didn't move or reply. I was about comment on this when I shifted in my seat and found that my shirt was repaired, as if it had never been torn at all. "Thank you."

Again he nodded and we fell into silence as I geared myself up to ask the questions I really needed answers to.

"The wolves hurt me." I began and he watched me without expression from his chair, I noticed now that it was slightly more detailed than mine. "One of them tore into me, but I'm fine now. I'm healing faster than I should."

"You are." He affirmed softly.

"Why? What did you do to me Cern? Ever since that first night in the woods I've been…different, what did you change?"

Cernnunos sighed heavily and leaned forward in his chair. It seemed he was just has hesitant to explain as I was to ask. Thankfully he answered all the same. "I did not change you, Mira. I gifted you with a part of me, yes, but it has done nothing but expedite your healing and enhance what you have always been."

"What am I?" I asked with a frown, fearing what he might say. This was not what I had expected.

Cern smirked, "You are _different_."

My eyes narrowed slightly in warning, "Define _different_."

The god sat back in his chair without losing his smile. "You have met with your leeches seer, a human with preternatural power. Through the ages Man has coupled with supernatural beasts and begotten children, or they have been exposed to some power and retain a small bit of it. Because of this it is not uncommon for humans to be born with some small enhancement. An instinct that allows them to sense the magic around them, though most don't even know what it is they are feeling. It is not enough to benefit them, nor do they ever know that they are different. However, on rare occasions, there comes a human who is connected with this power, like your psychic. Still they have little ability to do much with it, they are still human. The girl is a rare gem, to have such magic at her disposal, but as you saw, it is not without price. The human body is not meant for such power, and her mind has broken as a result of it."

"But I'm nothing like Lidia." I protested, "The only power I have seems to be the incredible ability to draw trouble like some kind of jinxed siren."

At this Cernnunos grinned widely and nodded. "_Exactly,_ Mira."

"I'm not following."

"You've see it in your leech and the wolves, even the Fae. For reasons you do not understand, they persue you, they wish to feed on you, to copulate. Your scent entices them, some even lose control of themselves over it."

"I assumed it was because of you. I thought that the part of me that was you was driving people crazy."

"Not people." He chuckled softly, "Only creatures, the wolves, the leeches, the beasts of Windsor. _They_ are the things that are drawn to you."

"But why," I asked, nearly coming out of my seat to get the answer, I felt desperate. "What am I?"

"_Illectamentum."_

"Is that a special metal?" I asked, only half serious.

"It is Latin for bait, enticement,_ temptation_." He replied, "I have only ever seen one human born with this gift in its full. She was able to call to creatures, to exude a sense of worship from them. They fell at her feet and were willing to die for only her favor, but like you she could not control it for long. Worship became obsession and she was devoured alive by the beasts that loved her so that they might always keep her with them."

"They _ate_ her?" I repeated softly, eyes wide. Cern noticed my distress and held up a hand to calm me.

"You are nowhere near her level of power, but your gift is similar. I realized this when I gave you my light. It made you glow, sweet Mira, and every Fae in the whole of Windsor turned at the feel of your power." He shrugged, "I was quick to stem the ability, but I could only crush so much of it down. It seems I have amplified it, and that cannot be changed now."

Cernnunos stood then and moved to kneel in front of me, taking my hand which had been trembling on my thigh. He smiled gently up at me and brush the hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. "Do not fret, little one, I know that you are not ready for such an ability, I will keep it in check for you."

"In check?" I exclaimed with a harsh, humorless laugh, "I can't go anywhere without some monster deciding it wants to drag me off and eat me or…" I cleared my throat and blushed at the thought, "_other _things."

"I cannot change that." He said and there was real regret in his tone, "You are the Lure, Mira, with all the joys and sorrow that might bring."

I drew my hands from his and stood, pacing behind the tree-chair and keeping it between us. There it was, my answer. The reason for what had been done to me, for Isaac's initial interest, for why Cern had come from his great endless sleep to claim me, why the wolves had tried to tear into me, why Saskia and Jael had risked their god's anger to steal me away. Finally I had my answer, and suddenly I was even more confused.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." I said softly, wringing my hands. The god watched me, he'd noted that I was staying away from him and was kind enough to keep his distance, but I could tell he didn't want to. Once he moved to comfort me, but I flinched back and he went still again, sighing.

"Very well, Mira. What would you prefer we discuss?"

"I only have one more question for now." I was suddenly very tired, and all I wanted to do was crawl into my bed upstairs and sleep forever.

"Which is?"

I was doing my best to remain absolutely calm as I spoke to him, but it was becoming difficult. "You took the memories of my family."

"Correct." He nodded, this didn't seem to affect him at all.

"I remember their…" I paused to swallow and steel myself, "their deaths. Not everything, of course. Some parts are hazy, others are unbearably clear. Their faces are gone, but I remember the screaming, and the wolf tearing and…eating. I remember silver-painted nails digging into my arm as we ran and I know that must be my little sister Addy, but I can't picture a single other part of her." My voice grew thick with emotion, but I did my best to push it back. "I can hear my father roaring for us to run, my mother's screams, I remember that, but I can't remember them. Why? Am I getting the memories back?"

Cernnunos sighed slowly at the brittle hope in my voice, meeting my eyes levelly. "Our deal was final when you took the remaining years from the girl. You will not regain your memory Mira."

I think he was waiting for my outrage, but all he got was a nod and a quiet sniffle. After a moment, he moved toward me, and this time I didn't bother to flinch away.

"The truth of magic is that it is cruel. All things that bend the laws of our nature come at a steep price." Cern looked at me then , and I was startled by the empathy I found on his face. "That memory is one of deep impact. It is what set you on this path of gods and monsters. The trauma of it has scarred you to your core. It was inevitable that you would retain some fragments." He sighed, "But your pain comes from your price for the years you gained. The exchange offered cruelty and kindness at once because you were allowed to keep at least this small part of them. The only memory you will have of your family will be the agony in which they died."

"I think you should go now, Cern." I said then, my voice weighted with exhaustion.

Cern seemed to understand, and nodded, but did not disappear. "We must discuss the leech, Mira. I do not feel confident in my leaving you in his care, as I did before."

"Well should he attack me, I'll call. Maybe this time you'll be listening." I was being needlessly cruel for something he had already apologized for, but at the moment, I didn't care. My brain was racing, full of new knowledge, more questions, and fear. I didn't know how to process anything, and so I needed to sleep. That was the only thing I cared about. I began to walk toward the manor, only realizing now how far away from it he had taken us, but there was no need. As soon as I took my next step I was at the door and Cern was pulling it open for me.

"I will speak with you soon, Mira." He sighed, realizing there was no use in trying to force me to talk to him now. The air around me crackled and buzzed and then he vanished leaving behind only a pressure that made my ears pop before dissipating as well.

The entrance hall was the same as I'd left it, bodies strewn across the floor, blood everywhere, and most of the wooden paneling that decorated the walls was crumbling down from where Isaac had collided with it. The vampire was still lying on his back on the cracked indent of marble at the center of the room. After a moment of starring at him, I sighed and walked over.

"Isaac," I said gently, standing over him with a frown. "Can you stand?"

"No." he replied weakly, closing his eyes, "I think I'll just lie here a moment. I could do with a nice relaxing death."

I rolled my eyes and went down on a knee beside him. "Don't be dramatic. You'll be fine, you always are."

He smiled thinly at that, though his eyes remained closed. "I'm flattered, but I think you are far overestimating my tolerance for pain."

"I know it's more than mine," I shrugged.

"Yes, but you're a baby."

I scowled. "And _you_ are a…_suck_." I couldn't think of anything more damning at the moment and it made the vampire laugh, though the sound was pained and colored with exhaled blood.

"I'm a _suck_," he repeated. "I envy your command over the spoken word. Such eloquence."

"If I sat on you, would it cause intolerable amounts of pain?"

He arched an amused brow. "That would depend on where you sat, lover."

I groaned in exasperation and rested my chin on my knee. "How can you be so irritating even when you're like _this_?"

"A gift," he sighed, shifting until something in his chest cracked and he grunted in pain. "Well, that's one rib back in place. Four to go."

"Jesus." I murmured, shivering at the thought.

"Cernnunos actually. I may be reading into things, but I don't think he likes me very much. Shame really, I'm awesome." I rolled my eyes again and he finally looked up at me. His smile however was devilish. "So, about this _sitting_. I'm thinking if you bounce around enough you might pop some things back into place."

"Should I respond to that, or just scowl deeply?"

He tried to shrug, but it made him wince and he stopped. "No need. I've guessed your answer with my clever deductive skills."

"Oh good," I smiled thinly and we lapsed into silence. When it seemed like I should leave however, Isaac reached out to clasp my hand. His grip was much less firm than it should have been, and I felt his spasms of pain as his body continued to push its pieces back into place.

"I'm sorry Mira," he said finally after a short hiss of discomfort. "_Really_, I never meant to hurt you, or scare you. I was just…" when he trailed off, I pulled from his grasp and looked at the cracked marble floor.

"I know," I said softly. "But those things you said about what you wanted to do to me. Were they true?"

I knew the answer, I just needed to hear him say it.

"Yes," he replied just as soft and I nodded.

"Then we might have a problem. How can I relax around you if I know that at any given moment, you're thinking about killing me?"

"I don't see how it changes anything." He grumbled, then at my arched stare cleared his throat. "You could take up pot. I hear smoking the Devil's Lettuce makes humans mellow…and hungry."

"Can't _you_ get high?" I asked, curiosity making me ignore his attempt at redirection for the moment.

"Marijuana burns through my system too quickly. Opiates are better."

"Sucks," I shrugged, "Now back to your wanting to _eat _me."

The vampire sighed heavily, meeting my eyes. "I won't. If anything, trust that your god made his point clear."

"You still _tried_ Isaac."

"I was wasted!" he exclaimed.

"And that's never going to happen again, is it?" I shook my head. "You can't expect me to take that chance."

The humor melted from his face then and Isaac sat up on his elbows, biting back his groan to watch me.

"So you'll run away with the god again? Are you serious?"

"I'm seriously considering it." I couldn't be sure, but for a moment he looked hurt by this, before the expression melted entirely from his face.

"I suppose that's it then," he said in a voice void of emotion. "Sanura will be despondent to have lost another child."

"And you?"

"My children were horrid little things, I can't imagine having more."

I couldn't speak than, at the thought of Isaac as a father. It seemed utterly wrong. While I wanted to know more about this impossible idea, I was good enough to focus myself.

"You know what I meant." I said slowly, shaking off the image of a tiny boy with black hair and bewitching patchwork eyes. I imagined Isaac's children might be like the werewolf pup Patrick, if a little more tactless.

Isaac sighed and lay back down on the marble. "I'll live," he replied finally. "I always do."

I wasn't sure how to take that, so with a silent nod I stood and left him to his healing.

"When you're finished putting yourself back together, you might try cleaning up the place. It already smells horrid in here. I'm not your maid."

"Sure thing, mom." He replied, just as plainly. Teasing without feeling anything about it. I couldn't be bothered to care, and without looking back, I climbed the stairs, avoiding the corpses and hurried to my room for that beautiful thing that would take me away from everything else.

Sleep.


	38. Panic Room

There were shopping bags in my room when I blinked my eyes back into focus. I'd slept for 10 hours but felt no more rested than I had the night before. As soon as I had woken up, the thoughts and weight of the previous night had flooded back over me, almost as if they had been waiting patiently for my attention. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again willing the thoughts to slip back into darkness but they remained, stubborn and vengeful.

I needed a distraction.

The bags called to me, somewhat like I'd just woken up to Christmas. For a moment I worried that it might be, and I had missed it. It had been colder the last few days, very cold. Shaking away this worry, I stood from my bed and jogged to the bags like an eager child, flipping on the standing lamp.

The labels were vast and only some familiar. One, made of golden paper and about as tall as my knees, had a small slip of paper taped to its side. I lifted it up and read the neat, small script across it.

"You're closet was getting rather tired, kitten, so I picked up a few things that will make you simply glow. Sanura." I let the card drop. "I love these backhanded compliments."

The bag however was still tempting me and I peeked inside, pushing aside the useless, colorful tissue paper the fancier stores loved to stuff in there. I was greeted by dark blue material. It looked sleek and soft like silk, but I hesitated to call it such. I knew nothing of fabrics and there wasn't a tag. I pulled it out to inspect the dress. It was fitted and looked as if it would hug me tighter than I was comfortable with to my hips. The end flared out, cut asymmetrically down to my left knee. The coloring got darker toward the hem, going from a deep royal color to dark blue only shades away from black. It looked slinky and enticing, and something I could never in my life picture myself wearing. I slowly folded it up and placed it back in the bag, sliding it away from myself.

"Interesting." I muttered, wondering if all these new clothes would be as flashy. I imagined myself dressing like Sanura a moment, enhancing my figure, what I had of one, and making myself noticeable. Did I really want that now? I'd never really bothered before. I loved my skirts, but it was out of comfort, not vanity. Did I really need to make myself more noticeable when I was already pumping out the equivalent of a monster's love potion number 9?

Curiosity made me inspect the other bags regardless, hoping she might have kept my personal tastes in mind just a little. They were all expensive labels it seemed. She'd forgotten some of the tags and I grimaced at the prices. Some of them seemed too high to risk wearing them, but apparently I was just frugal. Shoes, pants, blouses, dresses, a few skirts that were flowing and gypsy-like and just to my taste, but for the most part Sanura seemed to have been attempting a makeover. The clothes were mature, flirty or meant to catch the eye, exactly what I wanted to avoid.

"Wonderful." I sighed, wondering what of it I could wear so as not to insult her. After a few minutes of deliberation I decided on a knee length maroon dress and black leggings that ended just below my knee. I pulled on the wonderful pair of dark grey, sensibly heeled boots, all rumpled leather and wonderful. I was a sucker for boots, and Sanura had supplied me with plenty of new ones to try out. As a last touch, I pulled on a black camisole to shorten the rather deep cut of the bust line and smiled. Unfortunately all of this had taken only half an hour, and soon after admiring my new clothes, the fear that even this would draw more monsters to me came thundering back.

I hurried from my room to find Sanura and a bit of comfort, but she wasn't in the upstairs sitting room, where I usually found her these last few days. Then while I was walking down the hall I noticed that the smell from downstairs wasn't as awful as it had been before. In fact, as I neared the stairs and gazed over the dark wooden banister, I found that the bodies were _gone_.

I jumped when the lounge door opened across the large entrance hall. Isaac was backing out of it, looking through the room, and over his shoulder were the bodies of Macey and her violin playing friend, simply hanging over his back like ragdolls. He noticed me when he was halfway across the room and paused to look up at me, cocking a brow.

The silence was long and awkward before he cleared his throat, nodded, and walked on toward the doors between the staircases. I hurried to follow, dashing down the stairs, noticing stains of red here and there that had yet to be scrubbed away. I'd caught him halfway through the clean-up. But hey, at least he'd listened, right? That was a good sign, wasn't it?

I jogged after the long-legged vampire out the back door and onto the lawn. It was a shorter distance from the trees than the front, but still open. His manor sat in a large clearing. A few yards out I found him over the mouth of a pit, tossing the violinist in and shifting Macey until he'd settled her friend. I came on him slowly, knowing he was very aware of my presence and stopped a few feet to his right.

The pit was large; it had to be to fit a dozen dead bodies. I'm sure it had taken him little time to dig it, but it would have been a day's work for any human. It was deep and wide and the people inside lay still and bent at odd angles against one another, some with open eyes that gazed lifelessly at the walls of their grave or up at me.

I had to take a few steps back while Isaac shot me a humored glance and lifted Macey from his shoulder. She still looked as if she might open her eyes, like she could just be sleeping. Until I saw the deep bruised gash in her throat, the illusion was wonderful.

"You're still here." He commented, slinging Macey into the hole with all the others, the last of the victims, like a cherry atop ice cream. I tried not to feel anything about it, to lock it away with all my other anxieties, but the drawer was getting pretty full now. It was harder to close.

"Were you hoping I had already left?"

"No." He replied quickly, then sighed and moved to the 50 gallon drum resting by the side of the pit. "I thought your god would have whisked you away by now. Get you away from the unstable vampire."

"Unstable?" I asked, half-smiling, hoping it was a joke in poor taste.

Isaac looked at me a moment before he grabbed the top of the metal drum, his fingers sank into the edge as if the metal were paper and he peeled back the top, regardless of the welding. It all made a horrible wrenching metal sound and I covered my ears a moment until he'd finished and kicked the drum on its side. Orangish-tinted liquid poured out, filling the air with rancid gas fumes as it spilled into the pit. He watched this a moment then backed up, lifting up his arm to make me move with him away from the pit. He pulled a pack of matches from his pocket and struck one then lit the others and tossed it into the pit. The fumes ignited before the matches had hit the bodies and a wall of fire exploded up out of the pit. I let out a startled noise and grabbed Isaac's arm before the fire settled and he slipped away from me without a word.

I followed the vampire back inside and into the parlor were he settled behind the desk and opened the sleek, black laptop on its surface. As I settled into the loveseat that faced him, Isaac glanced up at me and frowned, then began clacking away on the computer. I watched him a while in silence, wondering if he were just going to ignore me, and whether it was because he was a bit embarrassed at what he had done. After a few minutes however, he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Could you stop starring at me? I'm faking my taxes here and you're making me feel like Big Brother is breathing over my neck."

I laughed at that, wrapping my hand around my rumbling belly and thinking of food. "You fake your taxes?"

He arched a brow, "Well yes. I don't actually exist. Not everything can be honest. Beside's do you know what the taxes are for someone with my kind of money? No thank you. America can bite me."

"Well when you're finished stiffing the IRS, I'm starving and you haven't restocked your fridge what with all the murder you've been busy performing."

"Mira," he began tiredly, but I held up a hand.

"I'm asking you to take me out for something to eat, this will not become an Inquisition."

Isaac closed the laptop, staring at me over it with slightly narrowed eyes. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Mostly because if I don't eat things I'll waste away and die. I'll probably be really cranky about it too."

He gave me an arched look at my sarcasm and shook his head with a weary laugh. "I thought you were mad at me again. Aren't you supposed to be cursing me and telling me how much of an evil bastard I am? That's the normal routine."

"Is that what you'd like me to do?"

"No." he sighed, eyes going back to the screen though he didn't really see it anymore. I waited for him to continue, but he only sat there, silent and so still it would have unnerved me if I weren't getting used to him doing such things. After a long moment I unfolded myself from the chair and walked toward him. His eyes snapped up to me, following my progress with a frown. They were bright and beautiful, blue and green. Why didn't I look at them more often? Why didn't I look at him? Isaac was beautiful, painfully so, tall and lean and perfect and suddenly I wanted to slap myself for not jumping him sooner, circumstances be damned.

He watched me with curiosity as I stopped right in front of him, turning his office chair to face me and stepping between his knees. He didn't move, simply watched as I leaned down, planting my hands on his broad shoulders for support and with a smile, kissed him. He didn't kiss me back at first, just sat there, confused and startled and then when my fingers skimmed around the back of his neck to play with the short soft hair there, his arms snapped out and he pulled me into his lap. We remained like that a while, simply enjoying the feel of lips and tongues and teeth, and then I pulled back, tracing the line of his wonderful strong jaw with my fingertip.

"I'm not mad at you." I said softly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Last night I was scared and angry, I spoke before I thought, like usual." He seemed to want to comment on that but decided against it and nodded instead. "The fact is, I like you, crazy and all, I…like you. I'm tired of pretending I don't. I'm tired of fighting."

"Oh, but we have so much fun ripping into each other." Isaac smiled, but at my arched look he chuckled softly and nodded. "Yeah, pretty over it myself."

I settled myself down across his lap, fingering the neck line of his dark shirt, it was streaked in dirt and smears of blood from his cleaning earlier, but for some reason, it didn't bother me like it used to. I didn't like it by any stretch, but it didn't disgust me either. It was just _Isaac._

"If you don't mind my asking," he said, eyes searching my face for something intently, "Why the sudden change?"

"Cern told me everything last night." I began eyes on the floor, lost in emotions I didn't want to face quite yet. It took me a moment to pull back out of them and settle into my distraction again, wonderful, beautiful Isaac. "He told me what I am."

"What you are?" he questioned gently and I sighed.

I told him then, everything Cernnunos had told me. About my gift and what he had done to it, about what he had said I could become if he hadn't bound my power, about why the wolves and the fairies and the vampires all seemed to want to rip me apart and dance around in my skin. Through it all he was very calm, very quiet and simply nodded when I had finished.

"That's it?" I asked, somewhat irritated that he wasn't as anxious about the whole thing as I was. "You don't have anything to say?"

"Well, love, I'm fighting back the giant _I Told You So, _not without difficulty mind you." He smirked, "I knew something was different about you from the beginning. You always been so….ah to _hell_ with it, I _told _you so."

"You forgot the _nanna nanna boo boo_ part." I said flatly, making him pull back to regard me with a faux look of offense.

"How immature do you think I am?"

"Sometimes, I'm not sure."

He laughed at that, his fingers idly twisting one of my dark curls around his finger. Then after a moment, he sobered and glanced up at me from beneath his lashes, almost bashfully, which was startling in itself.

"You didn't answer my question," he said slowly. "Why the sudden change of heart toward me? I'm still sort of reeling from it here."

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily, catching the hand he had in my hair and pulling it down to lace my fingers with his. His hands were cool, not cold like he needed to eat, but not as warm as a human body should have been. He would need to eat soon.

"I'm not entirely sure. I mean I know the reason I guess, but it doesn't seem like it would be enough, but for whatever reason I woke up today and it was."

"And that reason would be?" he prompted, arching a quizzical brow.

"You tried to kill me last night."

"Ok, now I'm really lost."

I held up a hand and he went quiet again, watching me closely. "I mean, you tried to kill me last night, but that was the first time. Now that I know what I am, what I do to people like you, I realize that it speaks much more in your favor than I'd thought. I mean, I make you salivate I guess, I'm like this giant turkey leg with a bright red bow tied around it screaming _eat me_."

He blinked. "Interesting visual."

"My point is, you didn't, well you did, but not until now. You've had me for months, Isaac, you could have done anything to me and no one would have stopped you. You messed with me, and teased me, even scared me when you wanted to, but you never actually _hurt_ me. Not seriously."

"Define serious."

"Isaac, I walked into a forest and woke up a god, fairies tried to steal me away, and I spent two minutes with a werewolf and it made him want to eat me alive. I've been with you all this time, and you've never forced yourself on me. It took losing your friend and spiraling into a temporary craze for you to actually attack me. You've only ever bitten me twice and once it was because you had to."

"I broke your hand that night." He murmured, looking down at our intertwined fingers.

"I believe the correct term is crushed into fine, powdery bone," I sighed and then looked back at him, "but you did that because of Colette. I'm not saying it was fun, but it wasn't because you wanted to hurt me."

He nodded, and there was quiet for a short time before he turned his patchwork eyes back up to me and smiled. "Well, for the record, I find you more attractive than a turkey leg. Even one with a red bow, and that's saying something."

"Is it?" I scoffed, pushing at his shoulder, he laughed.

"Hell yes. I've never told anyone this, but turkey legs are my weakness. It's all that flabby, crispy skin. Gets me every time. Don't even get me started on the juicy meat."

"You know, now _you're_ creating the visuals. And they're disturbing."

"Why, are you picturing me fucking a turkey leg?"

I blushed and scowled at him, "Well I am _now_."

He laughed, thinking a moment, "You know, I don't see how that would be possible, not unless the leg went in my-"

"Isaac!"

He shrugged, "You're the perv who was picturing it. Ya' weirdo."

"Oh, I'm the weirdo?" I smiled, leaning in to kiss him again, "Mr. Bondage-Freak."

Isaac's smile turned wicked then, his eyes glinting and he nipped at my bottom lip when I kissed him again. "You have no idea. I've got a playroom here, if you're ever interested in seeing it."

"Playroom?" I asked titling my head, "As in, sexy time room?"

"Yes, Mira," he laughed. "A sexy time room."

"Should I be nervous?"

"Only if you've been naughty," he smirked.

My own smile became a little heated and I shifted in the chair to straddle his waist, leaning up against him. My lips brushed his jaw and I pulled his earlobe between my teeth, feeling powerful and beautiful, something I was not accustomed to by any means.

"And what if you're naughty?" I asked softly, nibbling at the cusp of his ear now and delighting in the way it made him shudder.

"I suppose you could try to spank me," he said, his voice husky, "but it might not turn out the way you plan."

"Oh?" I smiled

"_Oh_." He grinned and suddenly his hand was tangled in the hair at the back of my head, pulling me down into a kiss that made my head spin.

My hands splayed out across his chest, trailing down across the damp cotton. Damp with blood, I realized and quickly slipped them beneath the material to avoid it. I felt the hard planes of his stomach, trailing my fingers up to his chest again and dragging my nails back down. He sucked in a breath against my lips and smiled, his hand settling at the small of my back, sending chills racing up my spine. I moaned into his mouth, hooking my finger in the waist of his jeans. It was hard to focus beyond his mouth, but I managed to clear my head enough to tug at the button and pop it free. When my fingers moved to the zipper however, Isaac caught my wrists and smiled up at me.

"I believe we have a dinner date."

"Can't it wait?" I asked, hating that my voice sounded so whiny. He laughed and shook his head.

"It can't."

"But Isaac," I smiled again, my sultry best and rocked my hips forward, pushing myself down against him. His eyes fell closed a minute and he sucked in a breath through his teeth, before they snapped open again. They were darker now, his pupil just a bit swollen.

"Woman, don't be difficult."

"You're the one being difficult." I grinned, continuing to grind against him. It made his pupils swell even more before suddenly he stood, lifting me with him and setting me down on my feet.

"You need to stop." He said, his voice was strained and in made my chest hurt.

Embarrassed I stared up at him. "I didn't realize you weren't attracted to me anymore. My mistake."

He growled in the back of his throat and shook his head, "Don't do that. You know I am."

"Then what-"

"I'm _hungry_, Mira." He said and I took a step back to regard him. His eyes were an oily black now, deep and dark and hungry. After a long moment, however, I straightened my shoulders and move back to him.

"Alright, so you need to eat, I don't see why-"

"I lost it Mira. I binged for three days. That changes things. Until I get myself back under control you can't just-"

"Touch you?"

Isaac gave a heavy sigh. I knew I was being a bit childish, but he'd just hurt my feelings. I'd put myself out there, and he had shot me down, it was more than a blow to my ego.

"I need to eat," he said tiredly, "After that you can touch me all you want." When I only nodded and crossed my arms, he sighed again, lifting my chin.

"Listen to me," he said slowly, "I'm not blowing you off. I want to, more than you know," his eyes roamed down my body and back and he fixed me with a heavy black stare. "But with all that's happened, with what you are, I don't want to take any chances."

"Sure." I nodded, shrugging.

Isaac stared at me a moment, then gave a heavy sigh. Before I could move back to my chair, he'd walked me back against the wall, his knee coming up between my legs to press against me. His hands skimmed up my side and he leaned forward to claim my mouth in a kiss that had me reeling and panting when he'd finished.

"We _will_ finish this later. I promise." He titled his head, stroking my bottom lip with his thumb and smiling when I drew the pad into my mouth and nipped at the end. "Alright?"

I nodded slowly, letting him withdraw his hand and then he was gone, tracing from the room. As I moved back to the chair I heard a shower kick on and wondered if he was taking a cold one. The thought made me smile.

"That wasn't like you."

I jumped at the sound of Sanura's voice and looked up to find her in the chair opposite mine.

"Were you listening?"

"I caught the gist of it, yeah."

"So?"

The vampire's green eyes flashed and she crossed her slender legs at the knees, leaning back in her chair. "Don't use him."

That made me pause, my jaw hanging open a minute. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't have to deny it, I understand." She waved her hand in dismissal, "You're angry at your god for what he did to you, and for telling you the truth. You're scared, and now you're clinging to the only thing you have. You're using Isaac to distract yourself from everything else."

"No, I wasn't-"

"Mira," Sanura said, suddenly, leaning forward in her chair and looking me straight in the eyes, "Do you think I'm stupid? Better yet, do you think _he_ is?"

"No, I-"

"Then don't do this." She snapped, then at the look on my face, she sighed and held up a hand, her voice softening again. "I like you, kitten. Really, and you make him happy, which is something I couldn't do, so I'd like you to stay around. I want you to be part of this little family, and maybe that's partly due to this lure thing you have going on, but it's the truth. However, I will not let you hurt him."

"Sanura, I would never-"

"Don't give me that, you do it all the time." She frowned and I went quiet flushing. "This is different though. He isn't…stable right now. I know you don't see it, you don't know him as well as I do, but he can't handle this. Not now. If you want to be with him, fine, I support it fully, but not to get back at the god, and not because you think you can bury yourself in his strength. He doesn't need that after Josep. So, like I said, don't _use_ him."

I was quiet while before I nodded. "I understand." I said softly and the vampire nodded back.

"Good." Then she caught me off guard by giving a bright smile, and the tension melted out of her in an instant. "Now, we should talk about what you're wearing on this _date_."

**xXx**

Isaac had finished his shower in record time. Then again as a creature that could move at ten times the speed of any normal person, it wasn't much of a surprise. Regardless of his swiftness, we had not been able to leave the house until Sanura deemed me perfect.

She'd ruited through the bags she'd gotten me, holding up one dress after another and listing out their pros and cons. After nearly half an hour of this, she's finally settled on an empire-waisted party dress. It was black, ending at the knees with an inch of scroll-work detailing cut out of the bottom. The bust was gathered just below my breasts, shimmering bits of silver decorated the gathered material and the seams. She told me it would bring out my gray eyes. My heels were like-wise black and silver (I assumed they'd been bought together) and taller than I had anticipated, but after a few minutes of walking instructions from the vampire I was ready to wear them out. My hair had been gathered back at the temples, bound in a complicated know at the back of my head, and all the hair beneath it tumbled down in dark curls. My make-up was thankfully minimal and restricted to my eyes and lips. She'd made me smoky and seductive and when I looked in the mirror at the end it had taken a moment to recognize myself.

Isaac had been speechless when I came down the stairs, which of course made Sanura laugh and tease him. He'd dressed in dark jeans and his usual black boots, a dark grey button-down and a black suit jacket. He looked wonderful, and I found myself a little flustered by him as well. Sanura had given him a pat on the shoulder and sent us into the garage with a wink, telling him to have me back at a decent hour. Seeing as they were both nocturnal, I'm not sure what that meant. In the garage I waited for Isaac to choose a set of keys from the ridiculous collection on his peg board. After a few moment of deliberating, he turned to me.

"What do you want to take?"

I raised my brows, glancing around at the huge garage and few dozen cars parked inside. Everything from classic and muscle to modern, phallic sports cars. I was at a loss.

"Um…" I looked around at everything and on a whim pointed to one of the muscle cars parked near the garage door. "That one."

He glanced over at it and smiled, turning back to the board to grab a set of keys. "So you're a classics girl? I can dig it."

I shrugged as we moved to the car, sleek and black with two white racing stripes down the back. "Well, I'd love to say I'm a car enthusiast too, but honestly I'm not really sure what it is."

He laughed, hitting the unlock, which I assumed he'd had installed, since this was an old car and probably not from the age of automatic locks. "1969 Chevy Camaro SS Z-28. Modeled somewhat after the mustangs, but it's got a rounder body. It's one of my favorites."

"These words you're using, they _sound_ like English…"

He rolled his eyes, "It's a muscle car, that's all you need to know."

"Sorry," I grinned bashfully, "The only old car I'm familiar with it the Chevy Impala from the 60's and that's only because I watch way too much _Supernatural_. I picked this one because it reminded me of it."

Isaac chuckled, motioning off into the garage, "I have one, if you'd prefer that, it's the '67 but they are pretty similar."

"No, this is fine. Let's just go." He nodded and tossed the keys at me. I managed to catch them as he opened the passenger side door and slid in.

"Wait, you want me to drive?" I asked, clutching the keys tightly to my chest. A swell of teenage excitement took me, as if my mom had just given me permission to pick up my friend in the car for the first time.

"Not if you don't want to."

I dashed to the driver's side and hoped in, careful not to slam my door, knowing he probably washed this thing every chance he got. Every car in the garage was in pristine condition. What I didn't tell him was my secret.

"Ooook. If I were an ignition, I would be where exactly?" Isaac arched a brow, but slipped the keys from my hand and started the car from his seat. "Right, ok."

I grabbed the steering wheel and smiled, liking the feel of the leather beneath my fingers and covering the seats. After a long moment however Isaac cleared his throat, watching me closely.

"Perhaps putting it in drive might help?"

"I know," I lied, "I'm just taking it in. You're letting me drive your car. Give me a second to enjoy it."

He nodded, but he was still watching me and I feared he might be catching on so I grabbed the gear shift, thanking god that it was a standard because we would have been screwed otherwise, and put it in gear.

Then promptly jerked out into the thin space between the lines of car that led to the garage door.

Thankfully, I found the break before we rammed into another of his cars, and I sucked in a breath, quickly throwing it in reverse and back up so that I could drive us out of this cramp little death trap. All the while, I avoided Isaac's eyes and focused on not crashing us.

"Mira." He said after I'd had to reverse a second time. I felt like Austin Powers, stuck between two walls.

"Mhmm," I replied innocently, nearly crying out in victory when I finally got us to the garage door and was waiting for it to rise.

"Why do I get the feeling that you've never driven a car before?"

"Because you're paranoid?" I supplied and we lurched out of the garage onto his gravel driveway, heading off toward the trees.

"Mira." He said softly.

I offered him a glance and laughed, "I'm twenty years old, Isaac. Of course I've driven a car before."

"And was that the only time?"

I cleared my throat. "No."

He saw through my lie and scrubbed a hand over his face with a tense laugh. "Ok, you should pull over."

"No way." I said as we sped out onto the street, heading in the direction of the city. "You're the one who gave me the keys."

"That was before I knew you couldn't drive a car."

"I'm driving it just fine." I said with a frown. As I said this however, my heel got caught beneath the gas pedal and I had to wrench it free, causing us to jerk forward and the car to growl loudly in protest. "These stupid things are making it a bitch though."

I frowned at my shoes, reaching down to slip them off. Beside me, Isaac made a startled sound in the back of his throat, his hand snapping out to grasp the steering wheel and direct us back into our lane. A car passing by the opposite direction let out a long, loud honk, the driver yelling curses out of his window. At Isaac's pointed look, I gave a weak smile.

"Whoops?"

"Mira, pull over."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, I really think you do."

Pouting, I turned drove onto the side of the road, and stomped on the break, making us slam to a stop. Isaac braced himself against the seat, closing his eyes a moment to whisper something in another langue. I'm sure it was rude, but I ignored it. Instead, I killed the engine and got out. The vampire met me at the driver's side door, holding out his hand. Frowning, I placed the keys across his palm and crossed my arms.

"Indian giver."

"Horrible driver." He retorted and I stomped to the passenger door, climbing in with a huff.

Taking a deep breath, strictly for his nerves, seeing as he didn't actually need the oxygen for anything other than speech, he started the car again and pulled us back onto the road.

"I'm holding this against you." I said, starring ahead at the road. He laughed, handing me my heels.

"If I promise to teach you how to drive in the Impala would that make it up to you?"

I hid my smile and shrugged instead. "Maybe." He smirked and we lapsed into silence. After a while I cleared my throat again. "So where are you taking me?"

"Well we have to make a stop first, I'm still…"

"Peckish?"

He nodded, smile gone, "You could say that."

"And this stop is where exactly?"

His lips curled up in a grin and he glanced over at me, "I think you'll recognize it when we get there."

I narrowed my eyes a bit, but didn't question him further. The drive was longer than I remembered, but it might have been my impatience counting each mile. By the time we'd reached the city, I was practically buzzing. We passed all sorts of restaurants and clubs; it wasn't until we'd reached the other side of the city that I realized where we were going. I'd only ever been to _Lucendi _once, and it hadn't been my favorite of experiences. I remembered the ravers and Goths and steam-punks that frequented to place and that Isaac had told me in no uncertain terms that this was the place that the creatures went, to feed or just to unwind.

Isaac parked us in as close to the entrance as he could, getting out opening my door for me and offering a hand so I could climb out somewhat gracefully. His arm looped around my shoulders and I leaned into him as we walked up to the front doors. Just like the last time, there was a line that stretched to the side of the great building, but Isaac strolled us right to the front. We got many hateful, jealous glances as the bouncer and Isaac exchanged a fist-bump and he motioned us inside, though I was pleased that this time there was no pig-tailed floozy in line for him to flirt with.

Tonight's music was something like techno, the bass swelling and dropping, sounding mechanical. "I feel like I just walked into the Matrix," I commented. Isaac smiled.

"Dubstep, it's an interesting trend."

"Interesting is right." I said as he slipped his arm from around my shoulders. "So, is this a quick stop, or should I settle in?"

The vampire's eyes were on the dance floor, scanning the occupants slowly for his meal. Strangely, this didn't bother me the way it had before. It seemed natural, it was just Isaac. Maybe that made me a little twisted, but I didn't want to think about that.

"I won't take too long," he said finally, his eyes on a curvy woman in a red plastic dress. Her skin was flushed as she writhed to the pounding music. "Maybe you should go get yourself something to drink in the meantime."

"Oh boy," I laughed softly, "Drunken Mira. Are you ready for that?"

He grinned, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek, "I think I can handle it."

"Well, then, give me some money, Sugar Daddy, I'm dry." He laughed, pulling out his wallets and handing me a few bills. There was no way I planned on drinking _that_ much, but it was nice so I didn't complain.

"Try not to kill anybody." I waved him off and he winked.

I watched him slip into the throng of dancers, eyes on the woman and wondered why it didn't make me jealous. I decided it was because he was planning on eating her, I was the girl he'd go home with. For some reason that filled me with pride.

When I got to the neon-lit bar I realized that the bartender was the same one from my last visit. I hailed him over with a smile, looking over the selection of booze. He was still a minute, staring at me like he'd see a ghost, then made his way over, ignoring several other patrons drunkenly waving bills.

"It's you." He said and the shock in his voice made me pause.

"Last time I checked yeah."

"You're…" he glanced out at the dance floor, presumably looking for Isaac and shook his head. "Sorry, just didn't expect to see you again."

That was when I realized what had shocked him. "Yup, still alive. Crazy right?"

"Yes, actually." He laughed grabbing one of the special lightning glass tumblers, "Whatever you're doing, keep it up girl. Apparently he likes you."

"That's what I hear." I shrugged, then grinned, "So what do you have for me tonight Mr…" I looked for a nametag, but didn't find one.

"Brett," he supplied with a smile. "Mira right?"

"You remembered," I smiled and he gave a little shrug.

"I remember you threatening to sodomize some drunk with my knife. Tends 'ta stick with a person."

"Oh…" I blushed, messing with my hair, "I'd forgotten about that."

He laughed and began mixing me a drink. When I sipped from the tumbler I was pleased to find it wasn't some harsh bourbon or whiskey, but something sweet that tasted like cherries. I thanked him and passed over a bill taking the change and sticking it in my bra since Sanura had not allowed me to take a purse.

I spent my time after that sipping at my drinks and chatting with the bartender. Apparently, Brett had worked here for 6 years now and had seen some pretty interesting things. He'd had no idea that supernatural creatures actually existed until he'd been out back taking out the trash and stumbled across a feeding vampire. After that, his days just got weirder.

"You get used to it, I guess. I mean, as long as no one tries to take a bite out of me, I'm ok with them all. So long as none of 'em kill in the club, that is. Everything's gotta survive, right?"

"I suppose." I said, but inwardly I thought of all the creatures I met who in my opinion deserved to be skinned alive and burned to ash. Harsh, but there were things in this world that were just wrong.

Brett went to help another customer down the bar with a promise that he'd be right back, leaving me to my forth drink. I was already feeling a little wavy now, but I wasn't drunk, just buzzed. It made the heavy, incessant beat of the Dubstep music somewhat pleasant and I found myself swaying in my chair to the music with a smile. I wondered how much longer Isaac would be, but brushed away the thought. I didn't want to think about what he was doing.

A green tumbler slid across the bar to my right, its contents was frozen swirls of pink and white with little bits of fruit, the rim coated in sugar. Suddenly my throat went dry and I turned to the man who'd given it to me. I recognized this drink from the first time I'd been here, too. When Ryan had come to introduce himself and I'd learned about shadows.

"You still come here?" I asked caustically. "Shouldn't you be out being Colette's like bitch-boy?"

Ryan smiled at me, slipping into the seat beside me, "I'm off tonight."

"Lucky me." I said and turned back to the bar. Part of me wanted to smash the drink he'd given me over his face, the other hoped Isaac would show up and I could direct him to his next meal. Ryan liked being bitten. I wondered if he would like it as much when his throat was being ripped out.

"You know, there's no reason for us not to be civil with one another, seeing as you're going to be around a while. We could be friends."

"I would rather swim through a swimming pool full of razorblades and lemon juice."

"Wow," he laughed. "You hate me that much? I was only doing what they told me, you know."

I gave him a tight and hateful smile, "The Nazi's were doing what they were told too. Doesn't mean it was right."

"So I'm a Nazi now?"

I sighed, downing the rest of my drink and pushing it toward Brett. He was glancing between us like he expected a fight to break out, and I wasn't sure he was wrong.

"The Nazi's had a cause, you're just a self-loving piece of shit that'd rather kill innocent people than risk doing the right thing."

"Josep wasn't a person, Mira." He'd lost his humor now and stared at me with his big hazel eyes like I was a piece of trash. "He would have been just as dead without me."

I started to get up but Ryan's hand closed painfully tight around my arm and he forced me back down, moving in close so that our conversation couldn't be overheard.

"I only went to pick up the psychic, _she_ was the prize."

"Let go of me." I snapped, trying and failing to wrench my arm from his grasp. He was stronger than he should have been, all full of vampire blood.

"She's a wealth of information, when you can get her to focus." He smiled and it made my stomach turn. "There are so many secrets out there, and she has access to them all, if you know how to get them out of her. You, for instance, haven't been very honest with us."

"About what exactly?"

"Fuzzy rabbits and a deer." He said slowly.

I stared at him a moment, wondering if he was crazy or if that was supposed to make sense, but then I paused. When Ryan had come to collect Josep and Lidia, he'd asked what I'd found in Windsor. Isaac had stopped me from telling him about Cernnunos and I'd told him about finding animals instead. When he saw it click in my head, his smile grew and his grip tightened.

"The Queen is very interested in the friends you've been making, Mira."

"Let go of me or I'll call for Isaac."

"Ooh, scary," he mocked, but released my arm.

I rubbed it a moment, scowling at him for the bruise he'd just given me and hopped off my stool. "I have to pee."

He laughed, motioning toward the bathrooms. "I'll see you around, Mira."

"Not likely." I muttered and headed for the restrooms, glancing back to see Ryan on his cell phone. He winked at me before I hurried into the bathroom and out of sight.

God I wanted to rip his face off! I wanted to beat him over the head with something heavy and laugh as he twitched and died at my feet. Briefly I was surprised by my violence, but shrugged it off. If there was ever a man who deserved it, it was Ryan.

My reflection in the mirror was startling. The girl who stared back at me had wild, angry gray eyes, her hair was tangled and her face was flushed in rage. I splashed myself with water a few times to clear my head, bracing myself over the sink and closing my eyes. I don't know how long I stood there, but it helped me to cool down until someone entered the bathroom and I pretended to wash my hands. I had been doing so for several minutes when I realized the woman who'd come in was staring at me.

"Um, hello," I waved awkwardly. She didn't reply so I turned around to look at her "Can I help you?

"Are you Mira, Isaac's little plaything?"

My chest tightened and I stared at her. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled and now that I was looking closely I could see that her pupils were slightly swollen, her skin pale, and on the inside of her elbow was a pale scar. I wouldn't have seen it if the smooth skin hadn't caught the light as she shifted her hand into her pocket.

She was a shadow.

I moved to run before she could withdraw her hand, hoping to reach the door before I found out what she'd reached for, but she surged forward. She was faster than me, and stronger thanks to the vampire blood and when she grabbed my hair and wrenched me back across the bathroom it sent me hurtling into the wall. I grunted, trying to find my balance, but she was already there. Her hands shot out again and she grabbed my hair, slamming my head into the tile hard enough to crack it.

I went down hard, my vision going black long enough for her to move over me and reach into her pocket again, pulling out something black and blunt, made of plastic. Two small metal prongs jutted out from the top and when she pulled the trigger they began to click, a blue spark of electricity arcing between them. I had enough sense to strike out at her before she could hit me with the taser, managing to grab her arm. Her lips pulled back from her teeth and she snarled like some kind of animal at me, curling her hands around my wrist as if to snap it.

Using every bit of strength I could muster, I kicked out at her with both feet. Only one landed, but it was enough to double her over and send her stumbling back a few steps. I took that opportunity to climb to my feet and dash for the door again, putting all my weight behind it to push it open quickly, but I collided with it instead and stumbled back. She's locked it on her way in it seemed and as I fumbled with the bolt, the shadow was already rushing toward me.

"Isaac!" I screamed as her arm snaked around my throat, cutting off my air and dragging me back away from the door. I clawed at her arm, but she didn't seem to feel it, or simply didn't care. This time when she lifted the taser I had no way to block it and the prongs stabbed me into the side. The clicking started again and I let out a choked scream, my body going rigid as electricity poured through it. When she pulled it back, it was as if my entire body had simply shut down. I slumped in her hold, choking with her arm around my throat until she let me fall to the floor. My head smacked against the tile, bouncing before I went still, my vision swimming in and out of focus.

Above me the shadow was pulling a cell phone from her pocket, hitting a single digit and holding it to her ear. She waited a moment, watching me with the taser ready should I fight again.

"I found her." She said quickly, her face lighting up at the sound of the person on the other end of the line. I assumed it was her master. "She put up a bit of a fight, but she's down now. How do you want me to do this?" She paused as the vampire replied and her smile grew, her dull brown eyes shining in joy. "Of course. I'd do anything for you…Yes…I won't, I can take her out the back….Of course." She smiled again, gripping the phone tightly, "I love y-" She stopped mid-sentence, holding the phone in front of her a moment with a tiny little frown. Apparently they'd hung up on her and it hurt. Good, the bitch deserved it.

The shadow slid the phone back into her pocket with a sigh then looked down at me, her eyes shining. "He's going to be so proud of me," she insisted, as if I could respond. "After this, he'll never leave me again, and then we can both-"

I never got to hear what exactly she had imaged her bright, shiny future to be because suddenly the bathroom down exploded inward and I barely managed to cover my face from the chunks of falling wood. To my utter relief it was Isaac who stood there. He'd heard me, thank God and come to help. His eyes slid across the room, black and angry as he took in my limp position and the shocked shadow, gaping at him.

"You can't stop me," she insisted, her hand fumbling for her taser. "You don't have the right. I'm supposed to bring her back."

"I would suggest you leave before I rip you in half," was his reply. The shadow's face went pale and she stammered a minute before shaking her head and looking down at me.

"No, I have to bring her back, if I don't he will be angry with me." She rushed to me, taser in hand and reached out to grab my arm, but never made it.

Moving too fast to follow, Isaac swatted the taser from her hand so forcefully it snapped the bone and she let out a scream. Thankfully, with the loud music outside, no one would hear it unless they were close. He charged her then, slamming her back against the wall and wrenching her head to the side by her hair. She screamed, batting pathetically at her chest with her good arm and shook her head as best she could in his grip.

"You can't!" she cried frantically, "I belong to _him_ and you can't-"

Isaac tore into her throat with a savagery I had only seen when he was binging. His hand clamped over her mouth to quiet her screaming, and after a few moments that too died away. Her eyes were still open when he pulled away, her mouth fixed in a silent scream, but when he released her she crumpled to the floor, dead.

"Mira?" he asked, going down on one knee and lifting me up into his arms. My head flopped to the side, but after a moment I could lift it and I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him like a life-preserver. My protector, my Isaac.

"I want to go home." I said softly into his shirt and he nodded. I was too out of it to even realize he'd traced out of the club until we were by the car. He shifted me to the side to fish his keys from his pocket and gently lowered me into the passenger seat, closing the door and hoping into the driver's side in a second. The car rumbled to life and he tore from the parking lot with a screech of tires.

The drive back to Isaac's manor was much faster than the way to the club. Partly because I was fading in and out of consciousness, and partly because Isaac was driving like a bat out of hell. I was regaining my faculties as we pulled into the garage and parked. Despite this, Isaac carried me from the car calling for Sanura the moment we were in the house.

"What happened?" she asked eyes wide. She scanned me like a frantic mother hen inspecting her baby and followed behind Isaac at his heels as we moved into the main parlor. He sat me down across one of the fainting couches and knelt beside it, brushing air from my face and prodding at my scalp. I winced when he found the place I'd collided with the wall and his fingers came away bloody.

"Some crazy bitch shadow attacked her in the bathroom." He told the anxious Sanura as she hurried to the mini-fridge behind the bar and returned with a towel and some ice-water. Dipping it in the water before handing it to me she began to dab at my skull, washing away the blood.

"Why did she attack you, kitten?"

"She said something about bringing me to _him_," I replied softly, wincing when the towel pulled at my cut. "Something about making _him_ proud and a bunch of random shit about how he'd love her after this. I don't even know." I groaned, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "I thought the night was bad when Ryan showed up but-"

"Ryan was there?" Isaac interrupted, brows creasing on his forehead. He glanced up at Sanura, who seemed just as worried. "Did he say anything to you? Mention anything that might explain the shadow?"

"No." I shook my head, and then regretted it when it began to throb. "He did say something about Colette though."

"What did he say? Tell me exactly if you can."

"He told me that Lidia was full of secrets, implied that they've been forcing her to spill them. Then he said…" I trailed off and my eyes widened a little as I looked up at Isaac. "Isaac, Colette knows about Cern now. He said that she was interested in the friends I've been making, that we've been keeping secrets. What does that mean? Is she going to make us go over there? Are you going to be in trouble?"

He stared at me a moment before shaking his head and pulling on a smile I knew was forced. "I'll be fine, Mira, and so will you."

"In that case, can I go to bed now? Getting my ass kicked really took a lot out of me."

"I'll go make some calls," Sanura murmured, gripping the towel tightly in her dark hands. "Find out if anyone knows anything."

"Be careful." Isaac replied, but is eyes were on me and refused to leave. "Can you stand?"

I nodded, wincing again at the pain of it and clutched at my forehead. "I think so."

He didn't give me a chance to find out, just slipped his arms around me and carried me up the stairs. I expected to go into my room, but he took the opposite hall, winding around a corner into a part of the house I hadn't yet explored. This was his hall, and he was taking me to his room. I'd never been in Isaac's room before and a tiny bit of me was excited to see it.

It was bigger than mine, by nearly double. The carpet was think and crème-colored to match the walls. The trim around the doors and the huge picture window to my right was polished black. His furniture was styled much the same, in shades of white, black and crème, all modern styles. The bed, which was the centerpiece of the room, was huge, easily big enough to fit at least 4 people sleeping side by side. It didn't have a head board or siding, instead it rested on a great black panel of wood about a half-foot longer on each side than the mattress. It had been made meticulously; each corner tucked in and covered to top folded down. Isaac set me down and I smiled as I sank into the soft mattress, laying back.

"So I get to sleep with you tonight?" I grinned lazily, stretching out as he pulled off his jacket and tossed it over one of the black armchairs by the floor to ceiling bookshelf. I didn't recognize many of the titles, some weren't even in English, but I appreciated his collection. "I'm flattered."

Isaac sighed, moving to me and knelling on the mattress by my side. He removed my heels and dropped them to the floor and I wondered if I would have stood more of a chance if I'd kicked them over. Stupid devils shoes, I'd never wear heels again.

"You have a concussion. You won't be sleeping for a few hours at least."

"Ugh," I groaned, rolling my eyes, "No one believes that bullshit about not waking up again. I'm exhausted.

"Mira," he said simply and I gave him a heavy sigh.

"Are you going to keep me awake then, because I'm pretty sure if I spend too much time on this bed I'm going to pass right out. What is this made of, clouds?"

He turned to remove his own boots and I pushed myself up onto my knees, crawling up behind him. When I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, he went stiff, turning to look at me over his shoulder.

"You saved my life tonight," I said softly, my lips brushing his throat. The vampire shuddered when I pulled at his earlobe with my teeth. It was becoming my favorite thing to do to him, he certainly seemed to like it.

"Mira," he spoke levelly, pulling from my hold to turn to me on the mattress, "You have a serious head injury and you've just been through something traumatic. Now is not the time for this."

I watched him unbuttoning his shirt, biting my lip at the sight of the hard, flat expanse of muscle beneath it. "I go through a traumatic event every other day. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're in shock," he replied. "You're looking for comfort the same way you were earlier tonight. I'm not going to sleep with you because you're scared."

I blushed, hating that Sanura had been right and that he had seen through me so easily. Why was he being so difficult? Isaac used to make a habit of coming onto me at the most inappropriate times, what the hell had changed? If this was his attempt at being chivalrous, it sucked balls.

"I'm not scared." I said, crawling closer again and slipping my hands up his chest. "You saved me, what do I have to be scared of?"

He didn't respond, simply watched me as pushed his shirt off his shoulder and grinned at the sight of his body. God he was delicious. I just wanted to lean over and take a bite.

So I did. "Come on, you aren't hungry anymore, there's no reason not to."

Isaac grabbed my upper arms, pushing me back gently when I'd nipped at his shoulder, "Mira, _Jesus_. Stop it."

Feeling that all too familiar spark of rejection, I pulled away and moved to the other side of the bed. "Fine. You're no fun at all. I'm going to sleep." As I said this, I rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes.

"No you aren't." he insisted, reaching over to roll me onto my back with a frown. "You're going to stay awake, and _not_ slip into a coma."

"Make me." I said, closing my eyes again. I let out a yawn and snuggled down into the mattress, "Unless you can think of a way to keep me awake, then I think I'll just lie right here and go the hell to sl-"

My words were cut off when he dragged me to the center of the mattress. I opened my eyes to stare up at him, delighted when he reached down and grabbed my dress, ripping it down the middle and tugging it out from under me. He tossed it onto the floor and rolled on top of me, not crushing me, but his body was snug against mine. A shiver of anticipation rushed through me and I grinned.

"You're a brat, do you know that?"

I laughed, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down into a kiss. "So what you're saying is I've been naughty?"

Isaac chuckled softly, pressing his hips against mine and sending another ripple dancing under my skin. "Something like that."

"Does that mean I get to see your playroom?" I asked.

He shook his head, his eyes sharp and intense as he looked down at me.

"Then what?"

"It means you had better be as ready for this as you think you are, because we have a few hours to kill, and I'm not stopping until I'm sure you'll be alright."

I shuddered at the promise, "That so?"

His lips curled into his wonderful wicked smile and he nodded.

I giggled and pulled him into another kissed, thrilled by the feel of his teeth. "Well, then, let's find out, shall we?"

**xXx**

I was dreaming. I'm not sure how I knew, I just did. Perhaps it was the floor beneath my bare feet, shining my pearlescent glass that rippled with my every step. It reminded me of the dress of glass Cern had made for me and I smiled at the memory.

I was walking through a hallway, long and endless and lined in doors. I'd avoided opening any of them, remembering that it was just that that had allowed Cern into my head. I wouldn't be making that mistake twice.

That is, until I heard the music.

There was a violin playing behind one of the doors, soft and bittersweet, the notes curled around me, beckoning me closer and thoughtlessly, I followed them behind one of the doors. The room was empty, made of the same pearly glass as the hallway and at its center stood a man with his back to me. He was lost on his music, sweeping the bow across the strings to make such a heart-wrenchingly beautiful song that it made tears spring to my eyes. I left the door open and moved toward the man, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but she turned before I could.

"Isaac." I smiled, wrapped my arms around him and hugging him close, "You've never played for me before."

"Did you want me to?" he asked gently, letting the violin hang free at his side. I nodded and kissed his cheek.

"You play beautifully."

The vampire smiled, his patchwork eyes shimmering against the reflected light of the glass. "Would you like to hear a song?"

I nodded, stepping back so that he could lift the violin up to his shoulder, resting his chin on the polished wood. Just as he began to draw the bow across the strings, however, they snapped, slashing across his face and cutting into him. The blood that dripped down his face was brighter than it should have been, shimmering oddly in the light. I had never known why vampire blood looked so different, so wrong, but here, it made his skin seem to glow, shimmering and wavering like we were separated by a wall of heat.

"You can't stay here," he said solemnly, dropping is violin to smash into the floor. "You have to wake up and see the truth, Mira."

"What are you talking about?" I said, reaching up to wipe away the blood as he stood still and stared at me, "Isaac your face, why isn't it healing?"

"You can't stay here." He repeated. "Wake up Mira."

I shook my head, trying to tell him that I didn't understand, but suddenly he grabbed my shoulders, shaking me until my brain seemed to rattle in my skull, and roaring out his next words.

"**WAKE UP**!"

My eyes snapped open and I found myself in Isaac's bedroom again, sprawled across the twisted sheets next to him. Sanura was above me, her green eyes wide and shining in the darkness of the room. She had been the one shaking me, and now that I was conscious, she dragged me up into a sitting position, ignoring my nudity. Beside me, Isaac made an irritated sound as he awoke, pushing himself up onto his elbows. He was likewise naked, but he couldn't be bothered to be bashful about it.

"He's here. Mira, you have to go _now_."

"Go where? What's happening?"

"Isaac, make her go!" Sanura pleaded, her eyes were wide and frightened. I don't think I had ever seen Sanura this scared in my life.

"Nura?" the vampire questioned groggily, his brows furrowed. He was worried too, but she just looked at him and repeated her words from before.

"_He's here_."

There was a moment that passed between them, something I couldn't understand, a silence that was heavy and pointed. Isaac was suddenly by my side, his arms going under the backs of my knees and across my shoulders, lifting me up as he rushed us forward, all in one inhumanly graceful movement. We were moving too fast, my head was spinning and the world had begun to tilt and just when I thought I might throw up all over him, I was on my feet again. I doubled over, clutching my head while Isaac traced across the room turning on a small light and moving back to my side. He'd brought his button down shirt with him, thankfully and placed it in my hands, though I didn't get the chance to put it on.

He grabbed my upper arms and stared right into my eyes, and his were bright and wild. They scared me, not because I thought he might hurt me, but because _he_ was scared. Isaac, who had joked and laughed when a God had broken every bone in his body, was frightened and it made my veins fill with ice.

"You have to stay in here Mira, at the back of the room." He was saying, but his words barely made any sense, my mind was still sluggish from sleep and the fear creeping through me only made things worse.

"Isaac, what's happening?"

"Don't come out," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Not for anything, not even for Sanura, do you understand? When I leave, you turn off that light and you sit back against that wall, and don't make a sound."

"Isaac…"my voice cracked then and I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, fearful pathetic tears. The vampire paused, looking over my face as if he were trying to memorize it. When I sniffled, his eyes softened, the wild sharpness momentarily melting away.

He reached up to stroke back my hair and lifted my chin. I could only stand there as he leaned down and his soft, cool lips brushed mine. It was a gentle kiss, lingering, and I suddenly felt even more afraid because it felt like he was kissing me goodbye.

"Please, Mira, just stay here. I don't know if I can protect you if you don't stay hidden."

"Protect me from whom?" I demanded grabbing the front of his shirt to hold him closer. I need the contact, the comfort of a body that could heal from anything. "_Who_ is here?"

"A monster." Isaac stepped back slowly, his attention going to the open door, only it wasn't a door really. It looked like a portrait, one of the ridiculously huge ones I'd found on the walls of the upper floor. It reached floor to ceiling and had been fixed to a hidden door of 4 inch steel. The room I was in was small with a single light source. This was a panic room. It was fitting too, because _now_ I was really panicking.

"Isaac what-" but I didn't get the chance to ask him again what was happening, why he seemed so tense, so afraid. He had vanished, with only a short pulling wake of displaced air behind him and the door had shut, the great gnashing sound of steel on steel echoing through the metal room as a lock was put in place.

I stood there a long time, waiting for him to come back and let me out of this tiny little steel cage, but he didn't. I pulled on his shirt, buttoning it up quickly and smoothing my hands down the sides. It fell just above my knees, covering me fully, but I couldn't really bring myself to care about that right now. What the hell was going on? Who was _he_? Why couldn't anyone use names around here, for those who didn't speak code?

Something crashed deep in the house, though the sound was muffled through the door. I was surprised I could hear it at all, but couldn't be bothered to wonder why. Instead I back up against the far wall as something else crashed and someone let out a scream. IT was feminine and I could only assume it belonged to Sanura.

I rushed to the door, pounding on it with my fists and calling for Isaac as the crashing continued. Someone was raising hell down there, and they'd hurt Sanura. I had to do something, anything, but I was trapped in here with the lock on the outside and nothing but a key panel in here. I tried it a few times before I realized there was no way I was going to guess the 6-digit password and gave up. I was shaking uncontrollably now as I strained to hear what was happening outside.

The crashing continued, growing in volume and Sanura let out another scream, I could make out what she was saying, but her voice sounded furious and terrified. Closing my hands over my ears and backed away from the door and flicked off the light as Isaac had told me, feeling like a coward as I did. I slid down the wall into a crouch and held myself. Eventually the sounds died away, and I stood straight starring through the darkness at the great vault door and wising I could at least see what was happening out there, who was here, and what they were doing. Was Sanura ok? Was _Isaac_? There was a slam down the hall, the sound of someone forcefully closing a door, and I went still a moment to listen.

_Isaac! _I thought, and a small sliver of my terror slipped away. He was back now. I could come out of this horrible room and demand my explanation. After I clung to him a moment of course, I could not deny that I was shaken.

I jumped to my feet and hurried to the blackness that was all I could see of the door. Another door opened and I made a soft sound of impatience in the back of my throat. What the hell was he doing while I was locked in this giant cage? Didn't he know how scared I was? If he was teasing me I was going to beat him with one of those ugly busts in the parlor.

Another door slammed open, closer, each had been closer, I realized and suddenly my chest tightened and I went very still. One door after the other, moving slowly down the hall. Isaac had no reason to check the rooms, he knew I was in here. I thought for a moment that it might be Sanura, but surely she knew this place as well as he did, the way she strolled about as if they owned it together. No, it couldn't be her. I began to back across the room, moving as slowly and quietly as I could manage as another door was thrown open, this one sounded as if it were right next to me. Someone was looking for something, worse than that.

Someone was looking for _me_.

There was a sound outside the vault-like door, faint, like scratching, as if someone were inspecting the picture. As if they knew it wasn't a picture at all. I realized I'd been holding my breath when there was a loud bang and I let it out to gasp. Regretting it instantly, I slapped my hands over my mouth and pressed back against the wall. Too late.

There was another bang and another and soon I couldn't help myself, I let out a sharp cry at the sound, frightened. Then there was a horrible screeching, the sound of metal being ripped apart, like when Isaac had ripped off the door of his car to get to me. My heart was racing, just as it had been then, my breathing coming in shallow pants as little by little the door was torn away, cracks of light breaking through the blackness. I tried to stay out of them, as if it would help, but soon there was no point.

The top corner of the vault door was bent and wrenched back, filling the small room with blinding light. I reached up to cover my eyes, pressing against the cold steel wall behind me as the door, with one last horrible scream was forced open. It groaned as it was pulled free, digging into the wooden floor now that its shape had been ruined. A shadow crossed the light and I blinked to focus my eyes on the man that stood there.

He was a vampire, there was no other way he could have opened that door the way he had, and at first glance he reminded me of Isaac. It wasn't in his appearance, though they both seemed around the same age, mid to late twenties, and he was just as tall, maybe an inch or two more so. It was in the way he was smiling, one corner of his mouth quirked up higher than the other, eyes glinting with mischief and triumph. Triumph that he had found me and that I had nowhere to run now that he couldn't catch me.

He was handsome, this vampire, the way all of them seem to be. As if the change had perfected their features, scrubbed away what was bad and replaced it was shining perfect beauty. He was pale like Isaac, his blue veins standing out in stark comparison against his skin. The vampire took a step toward me into the panic room, but paused to look me over and I was struck with a sudden sense that I knew him. It was vague at first, but slowly the images began to play through my head, images of a vampire so horrible the others feared him. A vampire who had turned Sanura with no other reason than to hurt her.

His hair was shorter now, cut in that stylish way that many actors favored, perfectly messy, tousled as if he'd just rolled out of bed. The dark, rich brown stood out against his pale skin, the bangs falling into his eyes, making them stand out fiercely from the rest of him. And then I was locked on them. Those eyes I would never have forgotten, deep blue, hard and cold like ice. They reminded me of frozen water, the death that winter brings.

"Hello." He said and his voice was soft and cold, just the way it had been when I'd seen Sanura's past. Cold and playful, like a great cat that had just cornered a mouse and mused over how it would hurt it first. "I've heard so much about you, Mira."

"What do you want?" my voice sounded far away, as if I were hearing it from the end of a long tunnel. The vampire titled his head to regard me curiously, matching me with my reputation, and seeming to come up lacking. I was too scared to feel slighted.

"It isn't what_ I_ want, precious," he said, and he was moving closer again. I realized now that he had been doing so all along, inching toward me without my even realizing it. My heart began to pound painfully against my chest now, my head spinning just enough to let me know that if I didn't calm down, I risked passing out.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, his gaze was sharp, and the longer he stared at me, the smaller I felt. I nodded mutely, my arms moving slowly to wrap around my body. A small comfort that did absolutely nothing to help me.

"You do?" he asked, and he sounded delighted by the fact.

"Daniel." I squeaked softly, "Your name is Daniel."

The infamous vampire nodded, is grin widening into something that made my gut drop to the floor. His smile _scared_ me.

"Correct," he said then and came to a stop right in front of me so I had to look up at him, pressed back against the wall.

"What do you want?"

Daniel shook his head, and reached up to tuck a wild strand of my dark hair behind my ear. The contact made me flinch away, but he ignored it.

"I told you, it isn't what I want. I've come for the Queen."

"Why?" I asked, my voice wavering as his horrible, icy blue eyes narrowed just slightly down at me his smile becoming malicious.

"I've come to take you away."

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!**

**Oh my, have I been waiting to get to this part of the story. You have no idea how irritating it was having to wait to get here, but now that we are, I'm excited.**

**I wanted to say thank you to everyone who been following this story. Your support was amazing and I couldn't have done it without you. Now as it's drawing to a close, all I can really hope it that you enjoyed it.**

**I still plan on doing the sequel, after this, because the story and the character simply won't leave me alone. I already have a good deal of it worked, out, so I'm hoping it will have a better flow than this one did. It will also feature several returning character, one of which being Sabin, because i love writing him and he's a badass. He will have a much bigger part in the sequel as well, because i can't help myself, if' i can't write his story right now, i have to write him into _something._**

** For those of you, who have been with me from the beginning, you know that this story was never intended to become a romance, and now it seems impossible not to call it such. The more I wrote, the more I realized that I could never bring myself to kill Isaac. I've always loved his character, since the first time he showed up in my short stories and I guess that just bled through into Mira. Now we have this, and while it isn't what I had intending in the beginning, I feel like it's grown into something fun and wonderful, and I don't regret a bit of it. Ok..maybe I regret making Mira such a whiney bitch, but she will learn. Oh believe me, her world is about to change again.**

**That being said, there are many parts of the story that were changed along the way, or taken out completely. Some I hated to cut, but had to for the flow sake and now I just feel like I'm throwing them away. SO! I was thinking about posting the deleted scenes and changed scenes, at least the ones that were long enough to be worth it on this site as Plot-Bunnies. Things like the original way that Isaac and Mira first slept together, which involved a demon and was **_**immensely**_** different, or the original shadow scene with Mira and the crazy girl, who had a bigger part in the beginning. If I did, would any of you be interested in reading them?**

**Anyway, thank you all for taking this journey with me. It's been a wild ride and I enjoyed every minute of it. You guys are awesome.**


	39. The Ring

**I couldn't stop myself, i had to keep posting. I warn you though, this chapter might upset a few of you. I have a feeling you will all hate Daniel just as much as all the others. ALSO! Two of the plot bunny's have been posted, so check them out! You can find them on my page.**

* * *

The car sped over yet another bump and my head cracked against the top of the trunk. It hadn't been my idea to ride in this cramped place, I've fought and clawed and cursed Daniel when he forced me in, hating the way it made him laugh. I was sure he was driving, he took corners harshly, speeding over bumps and making sure that I rattled around in the trunk. The heat was extraordinarily intense and made breathing somewhat difficult. I had begun to fear that I might suffocate in here when finally, blessedly, the car stopped and the doors were opened.

I was curled around myself, fetal and helpless when the trunk was opened and a rush of the winter air outside burst over me. I sucked in the crisp, clean air, eyes closing in pleasure until hands appeared above me and dragged me out of the trunk. It wasn't Daniel, he was waiting by the front door of Colette's manor with a smile. I wanted to rip it right off his face. To my shock, the vampire who had taken me from the trunk, was Sanura. She wasn't smiling, in fact her eyes seemed hollow and dull, her fingers trembling as she walked me to the vampire.

"Sanura?" I asked softly, trying to understand why she would help him.

"I'm sorry, kitten," she whispered, her voice light and tormented, "He made me."

I recalled what she had told me of the power of a _sire_. That all he had to do was insist and she was powerless to disobey. I told myself I wouldn't hold it against her, she was Sanura and she loved me like I was one of her children, she'd told me so. I nodded, squeezing her hand to let her know I was not angry with her, but she only lowered her head, ashamed.

"Kitten?" Daniel said suddenly, bringing our attention back to him. He chuckled looking over Saunra and pulled her away from me, wrapping and arm around her shoulders and make her fold down into herself as if she might melt away from his touch. It was clear from the look in her eyes that she hated him more than anything at this moment, and he seemed thrilled by it.

"Oh darling, has she wormed her way into you as well? I thought I'd taught you better than that."

"Please don't hurt her." Sanura said softly and the vampire laughed, releasing her to take my wrist and pull me through the door without an answer. It sent a shiver of fear down my spine. I recalled what I'd been told of him, of his cruelty and love of causing pain and it made me sick. Was I in danger of him here? Could I withstand torture? I knew in my heart that I could not, but for Sanura's sake, I held my head high and tried to pretend like I wasn't terrified of his touch.

No one was fooled.

Colette's manor had gone through some changes, not in the architecture, but I noticed symbols had been carved into the doorframe and into the stone around the windows. They were the same thing Josep had used to keep Cern and the Fae out of his cabin. I frowned at this, wondering what exactly she would need them for.

Cern would not be able to get to me if I entered this place and that filled me with a crushing feel that made me nauseous. I turned back to the door, trying to pull out of the steely grip of the vampire and grabbed the doorframe.

"Cern!" I cried out into the cold night. "Cern help!"

Daniel laughed, dragging me through the door again and wrapping his arm around me from behind. The feeling of his body, warm with blood and death made me shudder and I struggled against his as we both stared out into the twilight.

"He can't help you here, precious," Daniel whispered into my ear. "You're all mine now."

"Cern." I tried again, but my voice cracked as tears filled my eyes. Out in the darkness, amidst the first fall of snow, something shimmered on the lawn. I stared out into the dark, praying it was him and then my heart leapt in my chest.

Cernnunos was there, standing tall, his eyes blazing green fire out at us. He stared at Daniel, then looked at me and his face contorted in rage, but as he moved to rush the vampire something in the air rippled and he was thrown back just outside the gate. The god looked confused a moment, staring up at the gate. He raised his arms and slammed his fists against the invisible barrier, roaring when it sent him hurtling back again.

"You see?" Daniel said softly, hugging me tighter, "He can't get passed the wards. Josep figured it out for us, and that sweet little invalid psychic explained the rest. He can pound on the walls until the world ends and never step foot inside."

"No." I whispered, choking on a sob. Behind me Daniel chuckled, low and horrible, patting the top of my head as he pulled back and moved to the door.

"You're on your own, now little girl." He said to me, then turned his eyes on the god and raised a hand to give him a taunting little wave. When he shut the door the ground rumbled beneath us and there was a roar like nothing I had ever heard. It hurt my ears and I had to cover them a moment until it passed as Cern continued to beat against the wards.

"He's throwing a tantrum," Daniel mused. "You must be very important to him."

"He's going to kill you." I hissed then and Sanura's eyes went wide, shaking her head to ask me silently to stop, but I ignored her. "He'll get in, he'll help me, and then he'll find you. Every one of you. He'll rip you apart and I'll tell him to take his time with _you_, you filthy piece of shit."

Daniel stared at me a moment, titling his head as if he couldn't quite understand what I had said, then a smile slid across his lips.

"You really shouldn't threaten me, Mira. Not when I hold your life in my hands." He moved forward and I backed away from him, pressing myself back against the wall. He braced his arms on either side of me, staring down with cold, hateful eyes. "Do you have any idea what I can do to you, girl? What I plan to do?" My lip quivered, but I stood my ground, glaring back at him. "Oh, darling, you'll learn soon enough, and then you'll treat me like a king, if only to stop it all."

"Threaten me all you want." I grit out. "If you didn't need me, I wouldn't be here. Whatever Colette is doing, I'm a part of it, so don't treat me like I'm stupid. You can't kill me and you can't hurt me, so let's just get this over with."

Daniel, to my shock, laughed at this, pulling away. "You are clever," he nodded, "but you're wrong. I can hurt you Mira. Being alive and being intact are two _completely _separate things."

"Mira, be quiet," Sanura hissed. "Just do what he tells you and it will be alright."

"Don't lie to her, kitten. She's too smart for that." The vampire grinned.

"_Daniel_."

We all turned when Colette appeared in the hallway. Her cornflower blue eyes took in the scene, my tears and Daniel's smile and she frowned.

"What are you doing? There is time for foolishness later."

I looked back at Daniel, wondering what he might reply but suddenly there was a pressure in my head. The room swam and I stumbled back against the door gaining everyone's attention. My hands clamped over my skull and I let out a strangled groan, falling to my knees.

_Mira. _I knew his voice instantly, but it was colored by pain. He was struggling to speak to me and the harder he tried the more it hurt. _I cannot get to you. You must take down the wards. Quickly child._

"I don't know how." I answered back.

"Who is she talking to?" Colette demanded. "Has she gone insane like that little English brat?"

Daniel shook his head, glancing out the window. "No, Lottie, I think she's talking to her god."

Colette's eyes went black and she hissed. "Stop her! Is he can speak to her, he will be able to get through the wards."

_Now, Mira. You must break them now._

"How?" I cried as Daniel approached me. He grabbed my arms and lifted me back to my feet, searching my face.

_You're ring, child. Ruin the symbols, just one. But you must hurry, I'm losing the connection._

Involuntarily, my eyes dropped to the shining braided gold around my left hand and I nodded. "Ok."

Daniel, however, had noticed this. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed my hand, holding up the ring into the light. "And what is this?"

"Destroy their connection!" Colette demanded, very much like a petulant child. "Now Daniel!"

His eyes slid to her, but he was in no hurry and it struck me as strange that he would defy her, so openly in front of others. As if he hadn't a care in the world, as if he was untouchable.

"Cern they know!" I tried to tell him, tugging at my hand to free it from the vampires steel grip. There was silence for a moment and I felt as if he had sighed, slow and heavy.

_You must be strong then little one. I will find a way to you, but you must be strong for me._

"Cern, I'm scared." I said and my voice broke again, tears falling down my cheeks to drop onto Daniels hand. "Please don't leave me alone."

Daniel rolled his eyes and pinched each side of the ring to pull it off, then frowned when it didn't budge. He tried again, and again and his humor slowly melted into fascination. "What a neat little trick."

"Remove the ring, Daniel!" Colette shrilled and he scowled at her.

"Yes, Lottie. Try not to have an aneurism."

We were moving then, no, Daniel was dragging me deeper into the house and Sanura was yelling after us, begging him not to hurt me. There were more wards here, carved into the walls, painting on the floors and the farther we went the more I felt that Cern was lost to me, that I couldn't reach him. We reached a room deep in the manor and Daniel tossed me inside, closing the door behind him and shutting out the sound of Sanura's screaming.

"Now that I have you all to myself, how _will _we pass the time?"

My eyes went to the walls of the room and my gut dropped down onto the floor, my head swimming in terror. I knew what this was, with tools and knives and other horrible things resting on pegs. The floor was white tile, stained pink from blood. At the center was a drain in the floor to wash it all away when they'd finished, and there was a table above it, made of thick dark wood with straps to hold down the unlucky victim.

This was a torture chamber, and Daniel had brought me in here first.

"No!" I scream when he rushed me, lifting me up off my feet and slamming me down onto the table. I kicked and screamed and clawed at him to no avail as he quickly secured me with the straps, tightening them until I could no longer move but to struggle pathetically. He stood back a moment to inspect his work with a smile.

His icy blue eyes glowed in the darkness, reflecting the single shaft of lamplight above us like a cats. He'd turned to a small tray beside the table, littered with dirty tools and blood, lifting a long knife from it and turning it around in his hands. The way he looked a it, the way he held it was very much like an artist. As if it were an extension of his hand, his artistic tool and the thought made me sick with terror.

"It cannot be removed from your finger correct?"

My eyes widened as he took the hand in question and separated my fingers. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be real. It had to be a dream, a nightmare. I'd never woken up because this couldn't happen to me. Help always came. Someone always saved me. Daniel followed my glances at the door and his lips curled into a mocking smile, the knife he let dangle beside my wrist.

"Are you waiting for the god precious? He can't hear you anymore, not in here." He tapped the table beneath me and I glanced down, noticing for the first time that it too had been covered in ruins. Had they done this specifically for me? Oh god, I had to get away from him. I had to or I would die here!

Daniel tapped one of the runes with the tip of the blade, then used it to turn my head. The sharp steel bit into my cheek, but I ignored it, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of the sound of my pain.

"Perhaps you wait for Isaac instead?" he searched my eyes with a grin. "Your lover won't come for you either, precious. He's been a very bad boy indeed, keeping secrets from his Queen and _sire._ She's quite cross with him, now. In fact, he should be in your position right about now."

"Please don't." I whispered. The words had come without my wanting them too. Fear forcing me to beg. Daniel stared down at me a long moment before he gave a low chuckle and shook his head.

"I think we've wasted enough time." He sighed. "If I can't take off the ring…"

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Daniel flattened my palm against the smooth wood and eased the tip of his blade between my fingers. He wasn't looking at my face, but heard my gasp of horror and shook his head.

"_Shh_, precious. Crying won't get you your way."

And then, with a sound like snapping carrots the blade crunched down into my finger, just above the ring. It only took a moment, and at first I couldn't process what had happened until the second crunch. Until Daniel reached down and lifted a bloody digit that should have been attached to my hand. I stared at it, too horrified to scream, too shocked to feel the pain until I looked down at my hand, expecting it to be a trick. Blood rushed out onto the table, pulsing out of a ragged stump that should have been the ring finger of my left hand.

He'd just _cut off_ my _finger_.

When the realization finally crashed into me, I tried to scream, but Daniel quickly covered my mouth. He tossed the knife onto the tray and inspected the finger a moment as my world wavered and exploded behind my eyes. I could feel the pain now, a pulsing burning agony that screamed up my arm and made my entire body tremble.

_My finger! He'd cut off my finger! _As I wailed and thrashed, the vampire made distracted hushing sound and inspected the digit, releasing my mouth to prod at it. He pulled at the ring again, but even severed the metal seemed fused to my flesh.

"Interesting," Daniel murmured, wrapping the digit in a handkerchief he'd pulled from his jacket. He tucked it away in the inside pocket of his jacket and braced himself on the side of the table to look down at me with what was supposed t be an amiable smile.

"Oh, hush, it isn't that bad. I could have taken your hand, or the entire arm. You should be thankful I'm so nice."

I could only stare up at him, vision swimming with tears, and sobbing uncontrollably. Daniel, unaffected by this, dipped his finger into the pool of my blood and licked it away. His eyes sharpened and he made a soft inhale he didn't need smiling brightly.

"So that's why he wants you so badly." He murmured, brushing away the sweat soaked hair plastered to my forehead. "You taste like sunshine, little girl, did you know that?" When I only stared up at him, he frowned. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't have to use the knife you know. I could have just as easily ripped the thing off. I imagine that would have hurt something fierce."

"Fuck you." They were weak words, pathetic and cracking and they had no power behind them. The vampire only rolled his eyes.

"I am not you beloved Isaac, little girl, and you are not my type." Then he smiled, "But perhaps, for curiosity's sake."

"Am I not dead enough for you?" I asked. _Keep talking. Ignore the pain so you don't throw up._

"Well aren't you adorable," he mused. "Come one, I'm sure you can insult me much better than that. Go ahead, try."

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth and trying to stop crying, but I couldn't. I hurt too much, my entire body was shaking uncontrollably and this monster was too close.

"Nothing?" he asked mockingly. "That's a shame. Well, you'll have time to think one up while I take this to the bitch queen. She can be so impatient."

Daniel smiled, bending down to kiss my forehead and laughing when I lurched forward to try and bite him.

"Now don't you go anywhere, I'll be back for you later, precious, and then we can really have some fun together."

That was it. that was all I could take, and as terror and agony swelled through me, my head began to swim again and I felt the comforting pull of unconsciousness. I let it take me away. Far off to a land of dark and stillness and no pain. Far away from the monster.

Off into darkness.


	40. Secrets

Someone was touching me. I could feel the feint tug at my finger. No, not my finger. I didn't _have_ one anymore. Suddenly my eyes popped open, sure it was Daniel who stood over me, but the face that greeted me was less threatening, though just as hated.

Ryan was standing above me. He wasn't dressed in his fancy clothes anymore, just simple jeans and a printed tee-shirt for some band I'd never heard of. It made him look younger, closer to my age than nearly 25. He held a towel in one hand, stained red with my blood, a bucket in the other, and was dabbing away at the stump of my finger. When he pushed particularly hard I whimpered and it made him jump, not knowing I was awake. He scowled at me and dipped the towel into the water again, continuing his work.

"So you met Daniel." He commented. I didn't respond, just stared up at him. He looked tired, but not from lack of sleep. It was an exhaustion that reached his bones, purely mental and no amount of sleep would cure it. It was the exhaustion that came with stress, as I'm sure living with a _Seethe_ of psychotic monsters would do to a person. I'm sure if he weren't a piece of shit I could find the will to feel sorry for him.

"You really shouldn't smart off to him. I know you're used to Isaac taking it, but Daniel won't."

"Suddenly you care about my well-being?"

Ryan chuckled softly, "Not really. It's just a word of advice. You shouldn't have let Isaac kill Kayleigh, either. Daniel wouldn't have been so angry at you."

"That was angry?" I asked. He'd been horrible yes, but it had all seemed so good-natured…well good natured in the terms of a psychopath. Playful, not angry.

"If you'd just gone with her from the club, instead of fighting like you did-"

"That shadow was Daniel's?" I asked, wincing away from him when he pushed at my stump. As hard as I tried I couldn't believe it. She'd said she loved him. How could anyone in this world love something as disgusting and heartless as Daniel. It didn't make any sense and I stopped trying to understand it.

"I want to see Isaac." I said as he dropped the towel into the bucket and set them both on the floor. Ryan just laughed.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. Colette's got him downstairs. I'm sure if you listen hard enough you'll be able to hear him screaming."

His smile was hateful and cruel as he looked back at me and I thrashed up against the straps trying to bite him or claw out his eyes. Instead, my thrashing sent a spurt of blood from my finger stump across his shirt and he cursed, jumping back.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed, smacking me hard enough to turn my head. I worked my jaw a moment, ignoring the minor pain of this compared to my hand, which had taken back to throbbing now that I was awake and he'd been messing with it. "Stop it, ok, I came to make you better."

"I don't believe you."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly my idea. I would have just left you in here, but Colette says she wants that little stump of yours healed up so you don't go bleeding all over your new room."

"My room?" I asked, but he ignored me, reaching for a glass that sat on the tool tray, full of deep red, shimmering liquid. Vampire blood. The shadow took hold of the back of my head and lifted it up, moving the glass to my lips, but I clamped them shut.

"Oh come on, don't you want to stop bleeding? What if I told you this was Isaac's blood?"

A chill raced up my spine and I shook my head, "You're lying."

Ryan laughed shrugging and leaned against the table. "Yeah. It was worth a shot though. Not sure he'd be able to spare this much right now, the way Colette's ripping into him."

"Stop it," I said, closing my eyes and squeezing out a few tears. "Stop _saying_ that."

"What?" he grinned, "Isaac is being tortured? He's beaten and broken and not worth the blood it took to make him anymore. I'm not even sure they'll keep him alive much longer."

"I'll kill you, you heartless bastard."

He scoffed, "What are you going to do? Bleed all over me? You're doing a great job so far."

Again I tried to thrash out of the straps but they were too thick and held me tightly. Ryan, tired of talking now, fisted the back of my hair and forced my head up again. He pushed the glass up to my lips and as I struggled and choked on it, it went everywhere, spilling down my face and into my hair. Ryan looked furious and smashed the empty glass on the floor, back-handing me again.

"You're wasting it you stupid bitch! Do you understand how precious this stuff is?"

In response I spit the last of my mouthful onto the floor and glared at him. I hadn't been able to stop all of it though, and had swallowed some in the fight. Already I could feel the warmth of it tingling from my belly and outward making my head swim for just a moment before the room snapped into sharp focus. I could see him better in the dim light, hear the blood dripping off the side of the table in wet plops. My finger began to tingle as well, the skin knitting itself back together across the open wound, closing off the flow of blood. Briefly I hoped that my finger might grow back, but instead the wound just closed over, my stump healing into its blunt, useless self.

"There, don't you feel better now?" Ryan asked as he undid the straps across my legs. I went very still, not wanting to spook him and make him stop. He undid them quickly, pausing a moment to stare at me before unbuckling the last one.

"I'll take you to your room now," he said nodding to the door and turning his back on me.

That was his first mistake. The second was that he'd made me hate him. Without a sound, I launched myself off the table. With the vampire blood in my system, even the small amount gave me much needed strength and energy. I speared him against his back and we went crashing through the door, into the wall outside the room. Ryan cursed, thrashing to get out of my grip while I sat on top of him and began to pound my fists against his head. When that didn't do much but make him angry I grabbed a fist full of his hair and bashed his head against the floor.

The shadow was dazed and went limp, so I did it again as hard as I could, happy to hear the snap of cartilage breaking in his nose. Blood spurted out onto the hardwood floor, trailing across the symbols painted there. As the blood touched one of them the symbol began to glow. It wasn't any kind of light I had ever seen before, as if the paint were leaching the light from the room as the blood melted into it, spilling it back out backwards. Inverted light, not really glowing but somehow too bright to watch. When the blood had all been absorbed, the symbol throbbed and I reached out, brushing my forefinger across it. It was warm and shuddered like a living thing beneath my touch so I jerked away. It seemed to reach out toward me, but I crawled backwards off of Ryan and it dimmed, the inverted light fading away.

"Ow." Ryan was pushing himself up now, I'd taken too much time with the symbol. He fell once, his pupils swollen and uneven with the onset of concussion, and I stood. He probably couldn't take anymore head trauma, if I kept at it, I might even kill him.

I grabbed a bust that decorated the hall and smashed it down over his skull.

This time he didn't get back up, and I turned on my heel and ran. I'm not sure where I was going, but I pictured the front door, dashing outside to Cern and throwing myself into his strong arms. Out to safety, out to salvation and away from the monsters.

My thoughts went back to Ryan, limp on the floor and I grit my teeth. I hoped I'd split the fucker's head open, I hoped he was twitching on the floor with the grey mush of his brain matter leaking out onto the hardwood. Would the strange living symbols eat that too I wondered? He deserved worse.

"Now, _what_ could you be doing?" The voice made me trip as I ran and I stumbled against the wall, eyes wide. Daniel's terribly friendly voice met me as I turned around and before I could run, he'd traced the distance between us and held me tightly by my arms.

"Let go!" I cried, not that I thought he would listen, but it was worth a shot anyway.

"I take it Ryan can't play a convincing jailor? Really, that boy. What _will _I do with him?"

"I hope I killed him." I snarled, shooting acid at him through my eyes. I tried to knee him in the balls, but Daniel shifted and lifted me off my feet instead, slinging me over his shoulder, and slapping my ass when it was bared from under Isaac's shirt. I had forgotten I was mostly naked, and fought to pull the back of the shirt down and cover myself as he began to walk.

"We mustn't get our hopes up," he said with a sigh.

He carried me down the hall, passed the torture room, pausing once to grab Ryan's wrist and drag him down the hall with us. Ryan was groaning, but after a brief kick in the side from Daniel he stopped. The vampire took us deep into the house, passed a dozen different doors and finally stopped in front of one made of dark wood. A deadbolt had been installed into it recently, but the lock was on the outside, to keep me in I thought.

Daniel took us into the room, which looked very much like one of the guest rooms in Isaac's house. It was white, with dark cherry wood trim and floorboards. There was a canopy bed against the far wall and a bookshelf with a high-backed chair to my right. It all reminded me of something I might see in an old French period piece, all very much Colette's style. Daniel left Ryan in the middle of the room after closing the door and carried me over to the bed, tossing me down on it. I scrambled to cover myself and bent my knees under my body. Daniel grinned and offered assistance, but I slapped at him with my good hand and he grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Little bitch," Ryan was slurring, trying to push himself up and falling back to the floor. "Think she…shit I'm dizzy."

Daniel shot him an arched look and sighed, releasing me. He walked over to the bumbling shadow and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him up with on hand and tossing him across the room and onto the bed beside me. I scowled and scrambled to the edge, not wanting to be close to him. Especially not with the way he was glaring holes into my head. The shadow reached for me, sneering furiously, but I pressed myself against the headboard and grabbed the first thing I could find. A small stone statue of a fat woman without a head, a fertility statue I think, and I cracked it across his head. Ryan yelped in pain and rolled away from me, clutching his skull as if it might fall open and hissing a creative string of curses.

"Now, now children," Daniel smiled, taking the fertility statue away from me. "Do I have to separate you?"

"Yes," we said in unison.

Daniel chuckled and sat down between us, pulling me roughly across his lap by the front of Isaac's shirt and bit into his wrist. I clamped my lips closed and turned my head away, thinking he meant to make me drink it, but instead the vampire held it out to Ryan. The shadow saw it and his eyes snapped into focus, grabbing the wrist and latching his mouth to it like a drunkard beneath an open cask of wine. I watched this distastefully a moment while Daniel wrapped his free arm around my waist to keep me still.

The vampire nudged the fertility statue at the end of the bed with his polished dress shoe and smiled to himself. "I do hope this thing isn't active," he said glancing at the moaning Ryan. "We wouldn't want you breeding."

"I won't stay here." My voice was strong, even this close to him and it made the vampire turn to me with a patient smile, as if he were speaking to a child.

"Brave words when I'm holding you," he said and wrenched his wrist away from Ryan, flinging the shadow to the edge of the bed.

"I'm not going to sit here and let you hurt me."

He nodded with a patronizing smile and dabbed away the remaining blood with a bit of Ryan's shirt. The wound was already healed, now only a slight reddish line and even that was fading. He healed faster than Isaac did. Ryan was too stoned to care it seemed. He was just lying there now, his eyes closed and smiling in a daze. I wondered what exactly that much of their blood would do to a person, what he was feeling, but had no desire to find out for myself.

"So, "Daniel said working his fingers a moment. "What you're telling me is that the moment I leave, you'll be attacking our simple little guard here?"

I nodded. What point was there in lying to him when he would have seen through it anyway?

"Well, I admire your perseverance. It's admirable for someone in your position." The vampire smiled and brushed my hair over my shoulder, trailing his finger down the side of my neck. Too late, I realized what he meant to do.

"Wait!" I cried when the vampire's icy blue eyes bled to oily black, his curved fangs sliding down from their hidden place in his gums. "No!"

Daniel wrapped my hair around his hand and wrenched my head to the side painfully. "Thank you, Mira," he murmured against my skin, his tongue flicking out and making me wince in disgust. "I've been waiting for an excuse to taste you properly."

He didn't dampen the pain as Isaac did. I felt it all, the wet pop of my skin splitting beneath his fangs, the draw at my veins that seemed to try and pull me inside out. He wanted it to hurt me, and when I whimpered, he jerked his head, tearing skin and chuckling when it made me cry out. There was no use fighting him, he caught my swinging fists and held them tightly as he drank and soon I lost the strength for it altogether. My body grew heavier with each pull at my vein, and my breathing slowed with the beat of my heart.

Daniel made a soft inhale against my throat and pulled away panting. He didn't need to breathe for anything other than talking, but I had made his black eyes flash and his cheeks flush with color and warmth. He was winded from me and it seemed to delight him.

"I get it now," he said breathlessly against me, refusing to let go even as my head rolled down to rest on his shoulder, too heavy to hold up anymore. "You taste like sunshine because your god has blessed you." The vampire pulled back to search my eyes and his smile was excited. "His blood flows through you, did you know that? That's why you taste so wonderful, so full of life. I can only imagine what you would be like undiluted by human weakness."

"Get off of me," I growled, my voice breathy from fatigue. His feeding had left me exhausted as my body struggled to function with too little blood. My heart wasn't beating the way it was supposed to and it hurt in my chest, but I was still awake, and something in me whispered that I needed to stay that way if I wanted to keep breathing.

Daniel was laughing to himself and stood suddenly, shoving me off of him onto the mattress beside the still blissed-out shadow. I didn't have the strength to push myself back up, but managed to drag myself to the headboard and use it to prop myself up. Daniel was busy straightening his expensive suit jacket; he seemed to favor casual suits. They made him look like a young tenacious business man, a wolf from wall street or some heartless lawyer. Slate gray with a starched off-white shirt beneath. He looked handsome and powerful and it only made me hate him more.

"You have developed quite the reputation, child." Daniel said suddenly, giving a charming smile and running his fingers along the spines on the bookcase. "Mira who lives with a vampire but is not his shadow. Mira who runs with _werewolves_. Mira who enters the deepest woods of the _Seelie_ court and returns unscathed." His cold, blue eyes snapped back to me.

"Mira who beds a _g__od_. Who traded her soul for…" he trailed off to smile, "but _there_ is the most interesting part of your tale. What did you _get_ for such a precious thing?"

Suddenly he was right in front of me, inspecting me like I were some sort of lab rat, "You have shown no incredible strength or speed, nor resistance to pain." My eyes drifted to my nub of a finger and back to him, narrowing angrily. "So, the world is dying to know, Mira, what did you _get_?"

"The world will just have to be disappointed." I snapped, letting my head rest back against the headboard. It had started to pound furiously. Daniel, arched a brow and leaned forward, resting his hands on either side of me and making me lean back to get away from him, though I had nowhere to go.

"The world, perhaps, but _I_ have little patience for surprises. If you will not tell me, than I will find a way to _convince_ you." The vampire took my injured hand, lifting it to his mouth with a smile, "You've seen my idea of _persuasion_." He drew the stunted tip of my finger into his mouth, drawing his tongue around the ravaged edge. Revulsion, like nausea, washed through me, dropping my stomach to the floor. I had never met a creature who disgusted me more than Daniel.

He smiled at my reaction, letting me pull my hand away and tilted his head in thought. He reached out to brush my hair from my face, ignoring the way I flinched away from his touch. "You really should have never shown me that I frightened you Mira," he said slowly. "It is a weakness I _will_ exploit. You must know that by now."

"I don't have any special power, you fuck." I spat, wanting to hurt him and fearing that he would hurt me _again_ at the same time. I didn't like that he was so close to me. I could feel the warmth in his skin now, warmth he had stolen from me, and it frightened me that he could take it so easily. I liked to think that if it really came down to it, I could protect myself, but Daniel had finally proved to me that this was a lie. I was helpless as a baby and I lived in a world full of creatures monumentally more capable than myself. How had I ever had such an ego? What the hell had been wrong with me?

The vampire chuckled, tracing the line of my jaw with the tip of his finger, because I was too frightened to pull away and excite him anymore, "I'm inclined to believe you. I think this is a waste of time and that killing you will yield faster results, but Colette loves her collection, and cannot help herself now. She would have me torture you for secrets you do not have, if it meant she could add you to the set."

"But you_ know_ I don't have powers. Why can't you just tell her-"

Daniel laughed, surging forward suddenly and pinning me to the bed. "There are many reasons, Mira. For one, Colette is stubborn and hardheaded. She will not accept that you are not lying until I have hurt you. Secondly, curiosity is a fault I have suffered since my beginning." He grinned, kissing my cheek though I tried to turn my head away from him, "I have questions of my _own_."

"Get off of me." I said, though my voice was weak, even in my ears. Daniel ignored it, brushing his lips against the cusp of my ear and chuckled maliciously.

"Thirdly, Mira, I just want to _play_ with you."

I reached for something to hit him with, finding only Ryan who grunted distractedly and rolled onto his side. Daniel, thinking this was all just a delightful game, grabbed my arm and wrenched me closer.

"I didn't say we would play now," he laughed and settled me back against the headboard. "In fact, I'm feeling rather gracious today. You must be hungry."

"I was until you touched me, now I just feel sick."

The vampire frowned slightly and popped my cheek with the backs of his knuckles. "Don't be rude, Mira. We can always play instead." He grinned maliciously, "We've only explored the first food group of torture, there are still four others."

"Food groups of torture?" Ryan shocked me by speaking and rolling onto his back to look over at us. The vampire seemed to have forgotten he was there entirely. "Now I'm curious."

Daniel titled his head at me, brushing my ruined hand. "We've done sharp," he said. "There is still blunt, hot, cold, and loud. Think we can make it through all four in the next hour?"

"I'm sorry." I said, my head falling in shame and fury. That he made me submit only caused my body to burn, the familiar bubbling of rage was just beneath my skin, buried before by terror. "I'll be nice."

Daniel shrugged and sat down on the end of the bed to watch me with a smile. "We'll get to them later I suppose."

"What? No I just-"

He laughed, shaking his head as if I'd just said something adorable. "Oh, precious, you know I'm going to hurt you one way or the other. If not for my own pleasure, than for Colette's answers."

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say and shut it again. My throat was tight and I knew that if I wasn't careful I would start crying. I didn't want to cry in front of this bastard, he would probably get off on it as much as making me scream.

"Ryan, you useless lump," Daniel snapped, shoving at the shadow to get his attention. "Go get Mira something to eat. And orange juice while you're at it," he grinned. "She's looking a few pints low."

The shadow didn't waste time. Though he was slightly unsteady on his feet, as if he were drunk, he stood and hurried from the room. When the door shut behind him the room was silent and I busied myself by tugging at the bottom of Isaac's dress shirt. I really needed some new clothes.

Starting with some underwear.

"So," Daniel said softly, breaking the silence and watching me with a glint in his icy eyes that made me uncomfortable. "Since I'm feeling charitable, let's talk. You must have questions for me."

"What could I possibly have to learn from you?"

"Manners," he said, and the tone of his voice implied that if I didn't show some soon he was going to forget that he was being nice right now. I forced a smile and waited patiently for him to continue. "I'm sure there's something you've been dying to know. Something only I can tell you. I promise to be honest."

"Really?" I asked with a bit of sarcasm I couldn't hide.

"I find that for the most part, the truth is more painful than any lie I can conceive. Besides, what reason is there to lie to you? You pose no threat to me or anyone really."

"I can't think of anything." I grit out and he sighed.

"Not even about your beloved Isaac? I had thought you would jump at a chance to nose about in his past."

I nearly told him off, but my words left me as a question jumped to the front of my brain. I felt foolish even thinking it, in a moment like this when there were so many more important things to ask. What they were going to do with me, for instance.

"Why does he hate you?"

For a moment, he only laughed softly, looking down at the rumpled comforter between us. "Ah, does the boy still refuse to talk about me? That boy, sometimes I wonder why I ever bothered with him."

"What did you do Daniel?"

"Has he told you anything of his past?"

I shook my head, feeling embarrassed for a reason I couldn't name. Daniel nodded, and smirked at this making my blush deepen.

"Do you even know how old he is?"

Another shake of the head that made him laugh. "And you think the two of you are close? That's just adorable."

I grit my teeth but didn't respond, so he continued, clearing his throat dramatically.

"Isaac was born in 1597, during the _9 year war_, in Ireland. He was a child of rape, those were the times for it. His father was a British militant, who took an Irish bride as the spoils of war, though it was not a happy marriage and from what the boy told me it was only to taint her filthy, Irish bloodline with that of a pure British one. People could be so concerned with blood in those days, I hated to tell them that it all tasted the same."

I took this in a moment, thinking of the time we had all watched _The Boondock Saints_ together, and I'd gushed over the sexy accents of the brothers, telling Isaac that it was a shame he wasn't Irish too. At the time, I hadn't understood the chuckle he'd gotten from that, and now it made me a bit embarrassed.

"That makes him…"

"415 years old as of 2012," Daniel smiled, "Not a mathematician, are you?"

"415," I repeated softly. Jesus, that was much older than I had imagined. He had lived to see so much, war and change and the birth of real technology. In my head I'd always seen him as some dashing British noble, clothed it velvet and lace like something out of a romance novel. The accent I had always assumed he tried to hide probably wasn't even real. Then again, if he had been an Irishman, even one of British decent, the world would have not been kind to him. If he'd come to America, during the years of shunning the Irish, he might have even cultivated it to stay afloat. Better an Englishman than Irish and unable to even _enter_ most establishments.

"Oh," Daniel murmured with mocking humor. "You like that don't you. Have a thing for the _Micks_ do you?"

Not wanting to discuss my personal tastes in foreign fantasy, I brought us back to the question at hand. "Why does he hate you?"

"There was a time when even I worked for that frog bitch Colette. I was powerful, connected, and willing to do any of the nasty things she demanded with a smile. I was her favorite for years, and then I realized what a power-hungry impotent little shit she really was and she began to bore me. Colette sought to keep me under her thumb. She knew that I planned to leave, and had no power to stop me, so in her desperation, she found _him_."

"Isaac?"

"He was a lord at the time, living in Ireland under the rule of his father. I don't recall what it was that first drew me, but in time I began to recognize myself in him. He was fearless, impulsive, but trapped beneath his father, as many were in those days. I befriended him."

"What were you planning to do?" I asked glaring at him. The vampire chuckled, but shook his head.

"You might find it hard to believe, but I only sought his companionship. I was attracted to his strength, his ability to do what was required of him, regardless of the consequences. I respected him for it." His smile fell then and he sat back in his chair. "I would have never turned him. He had problems, yes, but no more than any other in those days. Isaac was happy and he loved his family, and he was expecting another child."

"But Colette got to him anyway." I finished. Inside I was caught on this validation that Isaac had in fact been a father. What had it been like to outlive his own children?

Daniel nodded solemnly. "She gave him to me as a '_gift_', but I knew the truth, not that she tried to hide it. I couldn't leave him to her, let her corrupt him with her scheming and power-plays, the way she has so many others. She would have made him as weak as she is, and I couldn't have that, not with him. I became his mentor and helped him to transition into this life as easily as I was able."

"Why does he hate you then?" I asked. "You make it sound as if the two of you were bestest buddies, but he can't even stand to talk about you. What changed?"

Daniel sighed, standing to move slowly to the bookcase. He pulled one of the large, dusty tomes down and flipped through it idly. "Their marriage might not have been born of love, but in the end, Isaac deeply cared for his wife. He loved his son and the girl that would have been born in the coming months." He paused to glance back at me, "Isaac always wanted a girl."

"Did you hurt his family?"

The vampire smiled, putting the book away and moving to the chair against the wall to watch me as he spoke. "When a vampire is created, they have little control over themselves. You have seen one of us when we are starved, but it is worse in the beginning. The hunger is...unbearable. We live off instinct alone, attacking any living creature with the misfortune of stumbling across us. He was no different." Daniel turned to stare into nothing and drifting off into memory. "There are instances however, in some, when tiny bits remain. For Isaac, it was the familiarity of his home. He sought comfort, even if he didn't understand it at the time, and I allowed him to go."

"You let _him_ kill his family." I said, hearing the disgust in my voice and wishing it would shame the vampire. He only nodded however, looking back at me passively.

"The boy was first, frozen at the sight of his father, returned from the grave, and then the woman. She tried to reason with him, begged him not to kill her, but he was little more than an animal and did not know her from Eve. Their deaths were quick, relatively painless, and Isaac did not remember the deed itself, but for flashes."

"Who gives a shit if he remembers or not! You let him slaughter his family, you bastard. Why would you _do_ that?"

His expression did not change, and he continued to stare at me, completely passive. "I told you, Mira. I had never wanted to turn him. He led a happy life, and he loved his family. When Colette turned him, I knew that he would never be able to let them go. Sure, I could have taken him away, left the country, but the boy would have found his way back to them eventually. A life with them would have been impossible, and it would have only served to hurt him further."

"So you were doing him a favor? Is _that_ what you think?" I scoffed.

"No, Mira. I cared for him, in my own way, and I did what was _necessary_. It was done in his best interest." He laughed then, shaking his head, "I regret only that I lied to him. Telling him that he had escaped my watch and found them through instinct. It was a half truth, and though it caused him great pain, it was not forever. He accepted it after time and after we found Sanura, he had another family. One he would never lose."

"But eventually he found out."

Daniel nodded, his smile becoming a distasteful scowl. "It was during a fight with Colette. She had learned that the three of us planned to leave. Under my care, they would return to the old world and be free of her, but she couldn't have that. She told him what I had done in an attempt to win back his favor, but he has never been stupid and he left her regardless. Sanura was the only one of us that remained, she hated me for hurting him, and Isaac refused to let her follow him. It wasn't until years later that I found her and explained, but Isaac…" he looked off into the distance again, not seeing the room around him, "I fear he will never quite forgive me, even if he understands why it was done. He cannot trust me any longer, but I understand. I will not force him."

"You're…" I tried to think of something hatful, but there was not a word negative enough to describe Daniel. He had all but forced Isaac to kill his family, his child, his _pregnant_ wife. There were no words for something that evil.

"Do not pity him, Mira. It was long ago and he has moved passed all but his hatred for me. There is more to it, there must be, but for now I will let him live in his hateful little world." He smiled to himself, fingering a frayed seam on the arm of his chair. "I have never quite understood it, but there is something in him, some spark that I crave. He delights me, challenges me. You can't understand how a fearless man can be a welcomed change in a life of domination. Every human who knows what you are bowing and praising you out of fear that you might rip them in half at any moment. The tedium it brings. Then came this wonderful boy, a product of abuse and self-hatred that saw me at my most vicious and still insulted me without fear. The thrill of breaking such masculinity, such an ego…" he laughed softly. "You would shrivel in your seat now if you knew some of the nasty things I forced him to do. The things I did to him."

My eyes went a little wide at his implication and I couldn't help myself, I had to ask. "Did you and him…do you mean sexually?"

The vampire laughed again, his eyes shining in amusement at my flustered state, and nodded once. "Does that bother you, little girl? Surely you had considered how immortality might open one's eyes. There are only so many blushing virgins you can bed before you begin to wonder what it is exactly that makes the fags so keen on it."

My face was burning now as unwanted images flashed through my head and I tried to push them out. Isaac had had sex with a man, and Daniel of all people. Horrid, depraved _Daniel_. What had he been thinking? The idea of him and Josep had been amusing, sure, but _this? _This left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

"I don't believe you." I said finally. "I saw Josep kiss him and it was like he could barely stop himself from running away. If he wouldn't sleep with Josep, why the hell would he do it with _you_?"

Daniel seemed to think this was all hilarious. "And where did you think that homophobia came from exactly? You assume that our time together was entirely consensual."

My fist curled in the blanket beside me, my eyes narrowing on the bastard. "You raped him." Even as the words left my mouth, they made me cringe. I felt as if something was crawling beneath my skin and I couldn't get it out.

"Not everything is so cut and dry, precious. You're young, you'll understand one day."

"No, I don't think I will."

Daniel rolled his eyes and stood from the chair with a heavy sigh. As he came closer to me I drew back against the headboard, not wanting him to touch me. Hell I didn't want him in the same room with me and it wasn't because he was a psychopath anymore. He was truly twisted, _disgusting_. He was a real monster and I didn't want any part of that. I had once obsessed that I would become like the vampires; cold and merciless and delighting in other's pain, but now I knew that could never really happen. I could never be like Daniel, I wasn't_ capable_ of it.

"You're right, Mira. You can't understand." He was smiling again, settling down on the end of the bed to watch me, and enjoying the way I stared at him like some hellish _thing_ dragging its twisted body right out of Hell.

"There is a power in it, that as a woman, you could never grasp. To take another man, one who is repulsed by the thought of it, to force him to accept it, to _enjoy_ it? There are few things sweeter in this world than shame and a broken ego."

"I don't want to talk anymore," I said, starring at the bed because there was no way I could bring myself to look at him anymore. He was repulsive, looking at him literally turned my stomach and I could no longer handle it.

"Oh, but you wanted to know about your precious Isaac, didn't you? Poor girl, have I scared you away from him? Can you bring yourself to touch something that damaged?"

"_You_," I said, loathing dripping from my tongue, "I don't want to talk to _you_. Get out of my room."

The vampire grinned and in the time I realized the mattress had shifted, he was pressed against me, his hand cupped under my chin and forcing it up. I screamed in rage and disgust and shoved at his chest, but he was immovable and I was still weak from blood loss, and god was I _tired_ now.

"God, don't _touch_ me." I shrieked, turning my head away and growling when he forced it back. "Please, just don't touch me, I can't stand it. You _disgust_ me. You're the most revolting thing I've ever seen."

He only smiled at this, enjoying my hatred, drinking it in and wanting more. He leaned toward me, and I know in that moment he planned to kiss me, and I knew that if he did I would vomit all over in. I was more concerned with having him on me than his reaction should I really get sick on him.

The door opened as the vampire had forced up my chin and titled his head, our lip mere centimeters apart. I could feel the warmth of him on my face, smell the sweet scent of vampire that should have enticed me, but in him only made me sick. Daniel went still, his eyes snapping to the door and our intruder and I had never been happier to see Ryan in my life. The vampire was clearly displeased, but he blessedly pulled away, raking his little errand boy with a scathing glare. I crawled away from him on the mattress, still unable to stand, but clinging to the opposite side of the bed like a life raft. He watched this a moment before standing and tracing to the shadow and the plate of chicken and vegetables he was holding. Ryan looked just as displeased to have interrupted us, but I think that was more because Daniel looked about ready to rip out his throat.

"Throw that out," he said, motioning to the plate and the only food I'd seen in hours. "She doesn't need it anymore." Then he paused at the door. "Leave the orange juice; she'll need a bit of her strength back for her interrogation tomorrow."

Ryan nodded quickly and set the tall glass on the side table beside me, then hurried out of the room. He wanted to get away room Daniel, I could tell, fearing his sudden anger, and I didn't blame him. Apparently, when this _thing_ was feeling horrid, he was willing to _rape_ other men. My stomach turned, and suddenly I didn't mind losing my only meal, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to keep it down anymore.

Daniel left after Ryan without a word to me. The door was closed and locked from the outside behind him and then I was left in silence, but I was grateful. I drank my juice slowly, wincing passed my tightening throat. I don't know when I started crying, but once the tears came they wouldn't stop. I finished my juice and set the glass aside, curling up in the center of the bed and folding a corner of the comforter around myself. I was shivering, and though I knew it wasn't from the cold, I bundled myself anyway. I don't know how long I lay there, but my cheeks had started to burn from the salt and my chest hurt from all the heaving. Eventually thought, exhaustion and devastation claimed me, pulling me down into a deep sleep. I wasn't safe there, though, because the moment I closed my eyes, I could only see Isaac and the pain Daniel had put him through. Even in my sleep I wondered if I would be strong enough to survive him.

* * *

**Weeeeeell….ahem. So yeah.**

**Some things have been let out in the open. There are many kinds of depravity, and Daniel likes to experiment with them all.**

**I got a few emails about Daniel for the last chapter, lot of Eww and I hate him, one from **disheartened **that made me laugh. "Dear Daniel, I hope Isaac rips each of your fingers off. And maybe some other things too." Thank you for that, it made my day.**

**What surprised me though were the few that seemed to find him attractive. Now, he's a pretty boy, and I'll admit that when I first wrote him, way in the beginning, I had a slight thing for the vampire, but that was born out of my love of writing him.**

**I'm curious though, how many of you still think he's yummy? *evil laugh***


	41. AN A Delay

**Hello all. I know this should have been the next chapter, but i've hit a snag.**

**The next bit was all written in a notebook, as well as the notes for the ending. At the moment i can't find the little bastard anywhere, and while i had planned to rewrite parts of it anyway, i would hate to rewrite the whole thing only to find the notebook later with better writing. **

**This doesn't mean i'll take forever, just that i'd like time to find the little bastard and get you the scene i'd written forever ago. If worse comes to worse however, i'll have to rewrite it.**

**Either way, you'll get the next chapter soon.**

**The story'es coming to an end and i'm writing bits of the next one already. I'm super excited for it.**

**Again, sorry for this delay, but here's hoping i find it tonight. **


	42. Lust

**The expense of spirit in a waste of shame**

**Is lust in action; and till action, lust**

**Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,**

**Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;**

**Enjoy'd no sooner but despised straight;**

**Past reason hunted; and no sooner had,**

**Past reason hated, as a swallowed bait,**

**On purpose laid to make the taker mad:**

**Mad in pursuit, and in possession so;**

**Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;**

**A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;**

**Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.**

**All this the world well knows; yet none knows well**

**To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.**

_**William Shakespeare - Sonnet #129**_

* * *

Pocelaine and glass littered the floor of my room tonight. For the past 20 minutes, I'd been lobbing everything I could find at my door and the walls. Not that it helped me, of course. Ryan had come storming in after the first smashing to yell at me, so I'd thrown the heavy wooden ship from the mantel above my fireplace at his head. It had become my target of choice when dealing with Ryan, my ultimate goal was to split it open, but I'd had no luck with that so far. His skull was amazingly thick. He'd left furious and threatening me, but I ignored it. After all, what could _he_ really do to me now?

The destruction was almost therapeutic. The sights and sounds of broken things had stopped me from going completely crazy. The door opened as I threw my last plate. The one these bastards had placed a dead rat upon when I'd told Ryan I was hungry. Unfortunately it was Daniel who stepped into my room, frowning in irritation. My rage could not be quelled now, so I continued my tantrum.

"What are you doing?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"Exactly what it looks like," I snapped back and picked up the crystal ashtray from the top of the dresser.

"Destroying Colette's room?" he asked, easily ducking out of the way of the ashtray when it flew toward his head.

"For starters." I was quickly running out of things to throw that would explode or break in a satisfying way. Pillows just seemed like a waste of time. Perhaps I could set the bed on fire!

The vampire arched an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"

"Several actually," I gave him a terse smile and went back to looking for breakables.

"Mira," he sighed. "I am losing my patience."

"Good." I went to the bookshelf and grabbed one of the many dusty tomes, launching it at him. The bastard didn't even change his expression, simply shifted out of the way and turned back to me.

"Couldn't you find something less irritating to do?"

"Nope." I threw another huge book, smiling when it crashed against a boring portrait of a ship at sea, shattering the glass cover, and then grabbed another.

"I've been locked in this room forever," I spat, punctuating each point with a thrown book. "I don't know how _long_ because you neglected to give me a clock." Another book and the vampire scowled.

"I'm starving." Another book. "I'm exhausted." Another. "And you cut off my _fucking __**FINGER**_." As I said this, I swept the remaining books on the shelf to the floor and kicked the pile.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. "And you think _this_ will motivate us to treat you better?"

"Nope," I grinned. "But it worked at pissing you off. That has to count for something."

That was when the vampire's expression went cold. His eyes narrowed on me, his lips thinning into a tight line and suddenly he was moving. I drew a breath to scream, but it was too late. The vampire had already slammed me back against the wall, knocking the air from my lungs. I gasped a moment, trying to make my lungs expand again, but the force and the fear that was quickly building in my gut made that difficult. Why did I always get myself into trouble? It was like my superpower.

"I see," he said, his lips curling into a smile that could have been attractive if not for all the hatred and sickness that swam behind it. He kept me pinned to the wall with his forearm across my shoulders, the other skimmed down between my breasts to spread out across my stomach. "So you think you can worm your way under my skin? Is _that_ it?"

Daniel's fingers pressed down into my flesh so hard I cried out, but he covered my mouth with his palm and continued to push until the skin split inward beneath his fingers and they sunk into me, up to the first knuckle, _into_ my stomach. The pain was blinding and so overwhelming that that I couldn't have screamed if I wanted to. Instead, I bit down into his hand until I tasted blood. Daniel didn't seem to notice or care.

"See, I think we've been pretty reasonable until now." He spoke softly. Far too calm for what he was doing, and his fingers pressed deeper. I could feel them inside of me, shifting things that shouldn't be moved, and tears blurred my vision to near blindness. He curled a finger around my lowermost rib, tearing through muscle and tissue to get to it, and gave it a soft tug.

"We've given you a nice room, haven't _completely_ disfigured or crippled you." He flexed his fingers to tear more of the skin and smiled at my muffled sobbing and the weakness of my arms as I tried and failed miserably to push him away. "Ryan is apparently starving you, but I can see to that."

I tried to grab his wrist, to pull it out, but Daniel swatted away my hand leaving me free to scream. The sound was garbled however, by the blood that was working its way up my throat. He'd broken something! I was hemorrhaging!

"Stop!" I wailed frantically. "It hurts."

"Yes," he agreed. "That was my intention."

"Please Daniel!" I cried, knees going weak as nausea rolled through my stomach and threatened to make me hurl all over the angry vampire. Something told me that he wouldn't take it with grace.

"Don't make a nuisance of yourself, Mira."

"Yes! OK! Just stop."

"So you'll play nice?" he asked, wriggling his fingers beneath my skin and making my stomach lurch.

"Yes! Anything, just stop!"

"Anything?" he grinned, tilting his head at me as he slid his fingers out of my gut and brought them to his mouth to suck away the blood. "You would think a girl whose spent time with the Fae would know better than to make such promises."

"Why's that?" I asked breathily. My knees had given out, but Daniel kept me pinned to the wall. Such a_ gentleman_ this guy, I was free to agonize without fear of crumpling into a heap on the floor.

"Well I could ask you for something untoward, Mira. _Anything_ brings many options I don't think you've fully considered."

"Don't you ever get tired of being a piece of shit?" All I knew was that I was hurting. That meant that good sense and politeness went directly out the window. This was one of my many faults. Daniel stared at me a moment before smiling and leaning toward me. With the wall at my back, I had nowhere to go to get away from him and the vampire brushed his lips across my ear, catching the lobe between his teeth.

"I think I've decided what I want, Mira."

"So that's a _no_ then," I grunted, my body was rigid, perhaps if I didn't move at all he would stop touching me. So far it hadn't made a difference. When he chuckled I jerked my head away from him to glare.

"I will _never_ sleep with you Daniel. You would have to kill me, and if you didn't, I would kill _myself _for having touched you."

There was a long moment of silence then, longer than I was comfortable with. Daniel wasn't smiling anymore; he'd pulled back to look at me, his expression something between stunned and furious. He knew I hated him, that was clear and even amusing to him. My blunt statement however seemed to have pricked his ego. There was a short moment of victory when I felt triumph for having gotten under his skin after all, but it was quickly chased away by fear when his eyes bled to black. Somehow the effect of the icy blue darkening to obsidian was more chilling than Isaac's change. Daniel looked _demonic_.

"You know Mira, I had started to hope you'd show a little spunk, you've been so pathetic thus far," he grabbed the back of my neck and hauled me away from the wall toward the bed. I didn't think he was after my blood and this thought terrified me, so I fought against him, for all the good it did.

"I was wrong," he said, casually, shoving me back so hard onto the bed that the air burst from my lungs and I couldn't get it back. "It's annoying."

I wheezed rolling onto my side, my arm lashing out and crashing against the picture of boring ships at sea above the bed. Glass showered down over us as Daniel settled above me. I watched the shimmering razors bounce right off his skin like he was made of marble. Nothing cut him while_ I_ was shielding my face and wincing at the burn of a dozen slices down my arms and head. The vampire swept an arm across the sheet beside us sending glass skidding off onto the floor. I rolled away, but was met with more glass to my left. Daniel grinned, leaning down over me and trapping me against the mattress with his arms on either side of me. I was huddled in a ball protecting myself in a fetal position I'm sure he found hilarious.

"Why are you so skittish kitten?" he asked softly and a jolt of cold shot down my spine at the pet name. He'd called me kitten before he cut off my finger. He was like Isaac in that he got calm or quiet before he was violent. The pet name was a sign that he was unhappy, that he wanted to hurt me, and that I needed to start praying that Cern still pounded away at the barrier outside to save me. I could not protect myself from Daniel, he made me feel powerless and terrified. I was more afraid of him than I had been of any other person in my life. I stared up at him with wide eyes, hands gripping tightly to my shoulders for protection.

And all he had to do was call me_ Kitten_.

"What is it exactly that you think I'm going to do to you?" Daniel asked tilting his head to regard me with a curious smile. My eyes went to the glass scattered around me and he arched a brow. "You're afraid I'll cut you? _You _made this mess with your flailing, but I suppose…" he picked up one of the larger shards on the mattress and inspected it. One edge of it was jagged the other perfectly strait and sharp as a razor, the entire piece of glass was about five inches, thin enough to be utilized as a knife. He gave the shard an approving nod before sitting back on his knees and pushing my legs apart.

"_What the __**FUCK**_?"I panicked immediately, jerking my body to the side to close my legs again and drawing my knees up against my chest. "Get the fuck away from me!"

"I don't think you really have a choice in the matter, darling. You can open your legs, or I can just start cutting. It's cliché but motivating regardless."

I shook my head and his wrist twitched. Just twitched, his fingers flexing for half a second, then suddenly pain was blossoming across the back of my thigh and blood flowed out of the wound in a startling stream. I yelped, jerking away only to have Daniel catch me, jerking at the feel of another gash, this one across my ribs. I yelped again, flailed again, and Daniel chuckled softly slashing me too fast for my eyes to follow. Tears began tumbling down my cheeks when he'd given me six decent gashes. I was pinned on my back and he'd managed to situate himself between my legs during my struggling, and when I realized this, what I could only describe as a fever rushed over me. Every inch of my body went hot, and it wasn't the pleasant heat that arousal brings. I was sweating, panting, and terror had clenched my chest so tight I could hardly breathe. I thrashed my legs, kicking him in the side and rolled trying to escape him. Growling furiously, the vampire grabbed me around the throat and slammed me back onto the mattress striking my head against the wall. The room swam into dim colors then, my body going limp. I prayed that I might pass out, at least then he couldn't hurt me anymore, but only a few short seconds later my eyes had cleared and Daniel was smiling down at me, his fangs sharp and curved wickedly like a snake. The black in his iris had taken over his eyes now, reflecting the light in shimmers that reminded me of a bug, like a spider. Another shudder raced through me and his grip around my throat tightened.

"You know Mira, I _can_ be insulted. I'm not _that_ withdrawn yet," he sneered gazing down at me like a lump of trash. "I want you to apologize."

"Go fuck yourself." I snarled, clawing at the hand he used to pin me. Daniel hissed, baring his fangs at me and shoved me into the mattress, cutting off my oxygen. When I began to struggle frantically beneath him, his grinned and leaned down to speak softly against my cheek.

"No, kitten, I'll fuck _you_." He pulled back to brush his lips across mine when I went rigid. He'd pressed the length of his body against me, and with my legs on either side of his waist, his slender hips fit between them easily. He wasn't hard, that at least was a blessing, but the feeling of him against me in such an intimate pose made bile rise in my throat and I gagged.

Laughing, Daniel released my throat enough to let me suck down air. His mouth was on my clavicle, lapping up the blood there. When I managed to speak, my voice was rough with tears, but full of rage.

"I swear to god Daniel, I will rip it the hell off and _feed_ it to you."

He laughed, "Vivid imagery, but I'm afraid you won't get the chance." I jumped when the tip of his glass shard slid up my inner thigh, nicking me along the way. "I'll be using _this_ to penetrate you. Won't that be exciting?"

Words were beyond me at this news. I drew my body up and away from him as far as I could, kicking wildly against the bed to give myself leverage while the vampire laughed as if we were playing.

"All that struggling is going to make this something to remember, kitten. I'd suggest settling down."

He had to choke me again to quiet my sudden screaming, and even then I continued to thrash my body like I'd been set on fire. I kicked and punched and clawed at the vampire, avoiding the shard to the best of my ability and he continued to laugh and avoid my blows with an eerie swiftness that put me more on edge, if that was even possible at this point.

"No!" that was the only word I knew, that word was my life and I screamed it over and over again while Daniel struggled to subdue me again. This time it wasn't so easy. My panic was giving him problems. He cursed softly when I'd slipped from his arm again and lurched forward. My shoulders were pinned to the wall behind me and Daniel sat up on his knees, using them to keep my legs apart. He snatched up my wrist into one hand bending them back until I shrieked and arched up to release the pressure, then his other hand was between us and I felt the startling shock of glass slicing against my mons and my scream became a single petrified animal sound of horror.

Several things happened in the next few seconds. My body went rigid, fear surpassing evn my survival instinct and trapping me beneath him like a statue. Our eyes met, mine wide and terrified and his glistening maliciously. Daniel smiled raising his hand back to ram me with the shard of glass and I closed my eyes, letting out a strangled cry.

But nothing happened.

The bed shifted and Daniel's weight rocketed off to the side with a loud crash. When I opened my eyes he was on the floor and Sanura was above him, wrestling the glass shard from his hand. His smile was gone now and he snarled at her as she bashed his hand against the floor to make him drop his weapon. The vampire's eyes were black with rage and she hissed savagely down at him when the shard went skidding off across the floor.

"_Bastard_!" she cried, swinging with all her might and cracking her fist across Daniel's jaw. It turned his head and he let out a laugh, so she did it again. Another cackle and she kept hitting him, but he kept laughing. It wasn't until she had lost her steam, fury tempered by his insanity, that he got the upper hand. Moving so quickly their bodies were only blurs of color Daniel rolled over on top of Sanura, pinning her down.

"My god, you're stuck on her too?" he laughed. "Oh, darling, that's precious! Have you found another surrogate child to make up for that dusty womb of yours?" Daniel leaned down over her, brushing the hair back from her forehead and stroking his thumb across her lips.

"You remember my promise don't you? I will never let you have children again, kitten, your own or otherwise. That's why I made you weak." He smiled up at me then ignoring my silence and trembling. "Has she ever told you that, Mira? She can't even sire another of our kind, her blood is too thin, too weak to foster the life of another." His smile softened to something hateful as he turned it down on Sanura. "I made _sure _of it."

"Leave her alone." I snarled at him, surprised that I managed to say anything at all with the lump in my throat. It was taking everything I had in me not to start bawling right now, from fear and hatred of this disgusting creature. This heatless and monstrous beast. The vampire laughed at me, but stood, straightening in a single fluid movement that put me on edge, he moved like a snake, boneless but perfectly in control.

"Now what are we going to do about this Sanura?" he asked her, watching me as she picked herself up off the floor. "You know I keep my promises."

"Colette needs you in downstairs." She said softly.

"Don't change the subject, kitten."

"They're preparing," she insisted. "They need you to handle Lidia. She's being…difficult."

Daniel sighed heavily, eyes cutting to her in annoyance, but thankfully he nodded. "I suppose we can table this issue for now then." He traced to her side and his fingers tangled in her curls, making her green eyes darken in anger. "But we _will_ deal with this Sanura."

Daniel turned back to me, sweeping me with a scathing look before he disappeared from the room and we were left in silence. Sanura released a held breath she didn't need and her eyes moved to me, still rigid on the bed and pressed to the headboard. She took in the gashes, the blood staining my sheets and her face fell in sorrow.

"Oh _bambina, _I'm so sorry." She was at my side so quickly in made me jump and the tension in me only made her heart break more, I could see it plainly on her face. When had Sanura begun to care for me like this?

I didn't quite know how to react when her arms snaked around me, but my body was on another wavelength. I shifted to accommodate her, resting my head against her shoulder and curling into her arms like a child seeking comfort from her mother. She soothed me with soft murmurs as the tears that had been lodged in my throat finally broke free and my body shuddered with my sobs. I cried into her shoulder like a child, clutched at her like a child, I might have been embarrassed by this in any other situation but now I couldn't care less. I was terrified of the moment that would bring Daniel back to my room. When I saw him next would he continue with the torture Sanura had just interrupted? How far was he allowed to go? Did it even matter? Daniel showed no regard for Colette's authority unless it suited him to do so. Would he cross the line and hurt me beyond repair? My finger was one thing, raping me was an entirely different can of worms but both were preferable to what he had just attempted.

My stomach lurched and I gagged. Sanura hushed me, stroking my hair and rocking me. I realized she was singing, but I didn't recognize the language. It was rough, Russian perhaps, but beautiful in its own right. I let the soft melody fill my head, let it become my only focus. Only the song, only her comforting embrace.

"He's coming back." I whispered, starring down at the bright red smears across my sheets. "I don't know if I can handle that. I'm not strong Sanura, I realize that now. I think he _wanted_ me to. I'm nothing like any of you, I'm a coward and I'm weak. You can't let him come back, _please_ Sanura."

She closed her eyes a moment and sighed softly, shaking her head. "I can't stop him, my love. I could only enter your room because Colette demanded it. He's ordered me to stay away from you, Mira. I'm sorry but I can't disobey him. It's impossible."

My voice broke then and I let my face fall against her breasts, tears plopping down between them. "Please don't leave me alone with him again. _Please_?"

"I'm so sorry, kitten." She murmured, but I sat up straight to stare at her wide-eyed.

"Don't call me _kitten_." Then at the hurt in her expression I softened, shifting back down to cuddle against her, finding comfort in the strength of her body. Thin blood or not, she was stronger than I could ever be. "_He_ calls me kitten."

"I'm sorry, my love." She murmured, kissing my temple and resting her head gently against mine. "I'm so sorry."

We sat like that a long while, her rocking me and singing her Russian lullaby softly against my hair. It helped more than I would have thought possible. The words were sweet and soft and maternal, safe and comforting. I let my eyes drift closed and simply listened, let her hold me, and realized that this is what I'd needed all along. I just needed the comfort, to be held and protected. To be loved.

With the thought of love, my heart began to ache. My mind wandered to patchwork eyes, bright and dazzling, a smile so wicked it would make the devil blush. Were they still hurting him downstairs in the large stone chambers? Was he alive?

"I want to see Isaac."

Sanura pulled back to look at me in concern. "You can't, Mira. He's a prisoner. Colette would never allow it. _Daniel_ would be furious."

"_Fuck_ Daniel." I spat, but my grip on her tightened in the moment I said it, as if she might protect me from him hearing this slander. "I might die very soon. I can't stop him if he decides to kill me, but I can see Isaac before it happens." She looked less than convinced, so I rushed on. "Just once, right now while they're all busy. I just need to see him, I have to know if he's ok. _Please_ Sanura."

She closed her eyes and grit her teeth but I could see that the argument was won. She would take me to him. When her eyes snapped back open, then were black, a sign that her anxiety was swiftly building. She stood from the bed and took my hand pulling me up into her arms.

"Hold your breath, Mira, I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you-" and then the world blended into a single steam of color around me and my stomach shot down into my toes and then up into my neck. The human body was not meant to move so quickly and for a long moment I couldn't stand straight without Sanura's help. She'd brought me to a great wooden door that looked far too rough to be part of Colette's petite, girlish manor. I took a deep breath, attempting to steady my nerve, but found it impossible and gave up. My nerves were already raw and stretched thin tonight, I had no control over them anymore, and so I simply opened the door.

"Isaac?" My voice reverberated back to me in an annoying, anxious whine. I winced at the fear in it and stepped into the darkness. I'd hoped to present myself with at least a little strength, but that was now out the window. There was a soft sound, a breath being drawn in against a smile, and the sound of shifting metal.

"Hello lover."

I spun in the direction of his voice and raced forward, but skidded to a stop before I could throw myself onto him.

"Isaac?" I said softly, drawing into myself.

My relief that he was alive was short-lived when I saw his condition. There was a leather collar around his neck with a ring of thick steel in the back, chaining him to the wall like a dog. Thicker chains secured the manacles around his bloody wrists to the stone he was propped back against, but thay had been altered. The shackles were fitted with a barb of steel that jutted into his wrists, cutting deeper into the flesh with each movement. He'd managed to keep his dark jeans, though they were dirty and torn across the knees. Colette had never replaced the shirt I'd stolen from him and he was still bare-chested, now a riddle of wounds. A gash ran the length of his sternum, down to the bone, curving abruptly right into his abs. The skin down his neck and across his right shoulder down to his pectoral was blackened and oozing red, burns I realized in horror. He even had a scoring of four angry red lines down his chest where Colette had raked him with her nails. Bruises on his jaw, a gash in his hair line with a caked line of blood trailing his face, more claw marks across his left eye, everywhere I looked there were more wounds and worse yet, none of them looked as if they were getting any better.

"Why aren't you healing?" I asked, falling to my knees beside him. When I sat there, clutching my arms to my chest to keep from grabbing him, he sighed and reached out around my shoulders to tuck me in against him. I went stiff at first, feeling him wince at the contact but couldn't help melting against him after a moment. His skin was cold, startlingly so, and I tried to keep my hair and throat from his face, though he'd be able to smell me anyway. It was all a lost cause.

Isaac drew in a deep breath from my hair, nuzzling his face into the dark tangles with a smile far too cheery for the situation. "You're _ok_." He said and his patchwork eyes were shimmering in the dim light in relief. "I couldn't stop imagining that bastard hurting you and I heard you screaming." He eyes closed and pulled me closer heedless of his injuries. "So much _screaming_, Mira. I didn't know what to think." When his eyes popped back open he was smiling again and he seemed so happy, as if we were home again simply talking in his house, not prisoners, not tortured for the amusement of monsters. "But _look_ at you, a few cuts here and there, but other than that you're perfectly fine."

His smile made me guilty, the relief in it made my heart ache. All I wanted was to throw myself on him in tears, to profess what Daniel had done to me, the things he threatened to do soon. I wanted Isaac's comfort, his protection, and here he was bolted to stone like a decoration. I was selfish, and he didn't need me to ruin what might be the only thing making him remotely ok at the moment. The fingers of my right hand closed tighter and I shifted to keep it out of sight. He obviously didn't know about my recent amputation.

"Why are you so…ok?" I asked finally to his laugh.

"Would you rather I be something else? I can tell you about how great it feels to have you pushing my rib into my lung right now."

"_What_?!" I jumped back, trying to get off of him, but Isaac laughed again and pulled me back, trapping me against his side.

"Settle down," he said gently, kissing me softly. "I _want_ to touch you. I need you to show me that you're ok."

"But-"

"Shut up." He grinned, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb. "Humor me. It's the least you could do while we're here."

I had no response for that, and so huffing I settled against him, doing my best to put as little weight against him as possible, hoping that I didn't cause him too much pain.

"You shouldn't have brought her here, Nura." Isaac said, his voice was gentle, but sudden. I had all but forgotten she was here at the sight of him. The vampire nodded her head solemnly. "He'll hurt you for it when he finds out, and you know he'll do that too."

"Fuck Daniel." She replied simply and her green eyes moved to me. I returned her smile at my repeated words and tucked my head against Isaac's shoulder. He might have been cold from hunger, but he was solid and real and despite his condition I felt safer now than I had since arriving.

Isaac sighed. "Don't give him an excuse."

Sanura cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms, moving back to the door to listen. "Shut up and don't waste my sacrifice then."

I poked Isaac gently and felt horrible when he winced, eyes snapping to me, bright and intense. He might be playing healthy for me, but the truth was, he was broken and in agony and I couldn't do shit to help him.

"Why aren't you healing?" I repeated my earlier question, and this time he rolled his eyes and answered.

"Whatever that asshole did to me is still happening. I was fine when I ate, but without it everything works slowly."

"Cern?" I asked clenching my fingers against his side. He frowned at the contact and glanced down, but I kept my hand angled away from him, hidden by his side.

"As I said, that _fuckface_ who broke me."

"_Damnit_ Cernunnos," I hissed, glancing up as if he might hear it. I wondered if he was still beating against the barrier. Was I worth the effort to him? Would he eventually cut his losses and give up?

"I'm sorry," I said finally, knowing this was all _my_ fault. Without me, Cern wouldn't have attacked him, or taken away his regenerative abilities. Colette wouldn't have turned him into a giant bloody bruise. Sanura wouldn't have been forced to endure the torments of a monster she had escaped long ago. Everything that was happening, all of the pain, it was all because of me. Because I _existed, _because Colette thought she could get something from me.

"Don't apologize," Isaac smiled, but I could see the strain behind it. He was trying not to scare me and let me see how badly he was really hurt. I was probably killing him right now with my weight against his ribs and leg. "I'm more concerned about you."

"I'm fine." I said curling my fingers tighter into a fist beside him. He was redirecting, trying to distract me from his pain, but the motion caught his attention and suddenly he was entirely interested in me.

"Why are you hiding your hand?" he asked, glancing down at it again and then locking our eyes. He could read me like a book, but I did my best to keep it together. He was too hurt to worry about me and I didn't want him doing anything stupid.

"I'm not."

"You've been hiding it since you came in here Mira. What's wrong?" His voice was flat.

"It's a little bruised," I said, sounding calm enough, "The bastard tried to break it I think, but Ryan interrupted."

"She's lying," Sanura said suddenly, reminding me that she was still in the room again. She made a soft sound of pain and shook her head when he looked at her. "I couldn't stop him. I'm so sorry."

Isaac's eyes narrowed on me, the color washing away beneath endless, furious black, and he shifted to grab my wrist.

"She's over-reacting, I'm fine." I insisted but he wrenched my arm up and pried open my fingers, at least he began to until he felt the change in them and went suddenly very still. Isaac made a soft exhale of shock and horror, his eyes locked on my absent finger then moved to my face where I was fighting with everything I had not to cry, and _damnit_ I was losing now that he knew. He didn't seem to know how to react, until finally he grabbed me behind the neck and pulled me back against him.

The most colorful and imaginative insults I'd ever heard poured from his mouth for a few minutes, growing louder and more furious as he went, until he was grabbing my chin and lifting me up into a kiss.

"I'm sorry," he groaned against my mouth, kissing me to comfort me, to apologize, because he didn't know what else to do. "I'll kill him. I **swear** it. I'll _rip him to pieces_."

"Don't," I said, pushing him back to look into his eyes, to let him see how much that frightened me. "Keep yourself safe, you idiot. Don't pick a fight with him for me. I'm not worth it. You should _hate_ me for what I've put you through already."

The room was silent for a long time, before very suddenly he popped me across the cheek. My head turned with the blow, more from shock then anything, it hadn't really hurt. My eyes were wide when I looked back at him and he was furious.

"If you say that again, I'll fucking deck you, do you understand?"

"Ok." I muttered, still shocked. His face softened a bit, but the irritation was still shining in his oily gaze as he grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me close to speak directly to me.

"You are utterly worth it, you little shit, so don't you dare blame yourself for this. This is _my_ fault._ I_ fucked up. I was stupid to think I could keep you a secret when we'd given them Lidia. She isn't as feeble as she pretends to be, she told them everything." He sighed and released my shirt, leaning his head back against the stone wall behind him. "She told them what really happened in the woods, that you woke up the forest god. Colette wants his power, Mira, and she thinks she can get it through you. She knows that the god's blood is in you."

"She can't drain me to get his power," I said, panicking a moment, but he shook his head. Sanura spoke, however, before he could.

"The little bitch told her that you're connected. She's going to use you to call him into a trap."

"How? You can't trap a god, can you?"

"Lidia seems to think you can," Isaac muttered scornfully. "She gave her a nifty little recipe for it before Daniel scooped her up and claimed her for himself."

"Hopefully he'll cut off more than her fingers." I spat, and the vampire sighed. "Damnit, she_ told_ us it was going to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Isaac frowned.

"Don't you remember all that crazy talk about the moon?" I scowled. "The moon sitting on a throne, jealous of the sun, or something like that. Cern is the sun, Colette wants his power. She told us there would be a ritual. Blood and symbols and songs, that's what she said they needed. I saw Ryan's blood on one of those symbols on the floor and it sucked it right up, like a weird glowing vacuum."

"Can we not say the B-word, my stomach's killing me." Isaac sighed and closed his eyes, resting back against the wall. I took a moment to memorize all his wounds, every bruise and gash and burn that I was going to demand from Cernnunos if I lived through this. Whether he did it to Colette, Daniel or himself, I didn't care, but someone had to pay.

Maybe Daniel could die just _because_.

I looked down at the floor a minute to find a sharp surface, settling on the bent edge of a metal ring bolted into the floor. Gritting my teeth I sliced my wrist, reopening the gash that had only just stopped bleeding, on the steel and held it up to him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he snapped, grabbing my wrist and pressing against the gash to stem the bleeding.

"You need it."

"I'll survive, Mira. You need to keep yourself as strong as you can manage."

"Damnit Isaac," I snapped back, "All I do is get it spilled out of me, might as well put some of it to use."

"Mira." He frowned, refusing. From the door Sanura cleared her throat in irritation.

"Just _do_ it. We all know you need it."

I grinned, "Two against one, buddy. Open up."

Isaac glared between us a moment, but to my great relief he leaned forward and closed his mouth over the wound. At the taste of the blood, his fangs snapped down, tearing into my wrist, his tongue catching what tried to drip away. He wasn't trying to be rough, and I did my best to sit there quietly, but his hunger stole away his control. He jerked his head once, ripping the skin further and I let out a sharp sound, inhaling quickly. His black eyes snapped open again, locking on me as he gripped my arm, holding me tightly in place and drawing at my vein. He didn't have the strength to numb me completely, but the gash tingled were he tongued it.

He held my eyes as he drank, and for some reason and blush rose on my cheeks. His expression was impossibly sexual, startling. How could he even have the energy for it? I drew in a shaky breath when he was finished, watching his black eyes as he nipped his lip and kissed the wound across my wrist. The skin tingled furiously, and the flesh began to knit itself back together, closing the wound.

"Better?" I asked breathily and he gave a silent nod. He didn't release my wrist, but pulled me suddenly across his lap. I cried out in shock and tried to scramble off until my hands fell on his chest and the blackened, burned skin across his chest and shoulder seemed to change. No, it wasn't changing, it was healing, slowly, and not all of it, but the ruined area was shrinking beneath my fingers. He took my hand and placed it against his ribs, letting me feel the raised flesh that covered a broken bone. I grimaced at the feel and he suddenly pushed against my hand. The bone cracked loudly, but popped back into place and Isaac let out a groan. He shuddered beneath me, but he was smiling again now and his black eyes no longer looked hungry. Instead they rose to me and I felt my blush deepen.

"You know Mira, I've just realized that you're wearing my shirt."

"It's all I have." I replied softly.

"That wasn't a complaint, merely an observation of your nudity."

"You can't seriously be coming onto me right now." I said and Sanura made a soft noise in the back of her throat, perhaps in agreement.

Isaac shrugged, lifting my chin to brush his lips across mine. "Why not? We could all die tonight for all I know. I say we make the most of it."

"You're chained to a wall."

"So the roles are a little reversed, we can work with it."

I couldn't help my laugh, but deep down wondered if he wasn't doing this to distract me from our situation. It was working. "I've never been chained to a wall Isaac."

"Well not yet you haven't," he grinned, tilting his head. "But the night is young."

"Perhaps not as young as you think."

The voice stole our humor, it stole the very air from the room. For a moment I couldn't bring myself to look, because that would mean he was really there. Why couldn't he have given us ten more minutes? Just ten, that's all I wanted, not _Daniel_, not the horror he brought with him.

Sanura hadn't been agreeing with me it turned out, she'd been trying to tell us that Daniel was in the room, moving quiet as a church mouse and now held her tightly against his chest, a hand covering her mouth. Her eyes were black with fury and fear as she stared at us, struggling against Daniel thought he seemed to pay her as much mind as a fly.

"I'm disappointed in you Isaac," he said then, shaking his head. "Here you are wasting time to get inside the pretty toy when you could have been escaping. All of you. You realize of course now you are still prisoners and I will be forced to reprimand you." He chuckled, "And by you I mean Mira. Punishing her will affect everyone in this room. Did you see her new hand? I can't wait to start on the rest of her."

A strange deep growl rose in Isaac's chest, rumbling out beneath me and I clutched him tighter, not knowing what else to do. Daniel ignored this and instead turned his attention back on the vampire in his arms.

"I'll deal with you later, Sanura," Daniel spoke into her ear, squeezing her throat so tightly she gagged. "Go back to your room and stay there. Get everything ready for when I come for you. You know the toys I like best. " She nodded, eyes downcast but Daniel stopped her, grabbing the back of her neck and wrenching her head up so he could stare into her eyes. If his lack of her pet name hadn't denoted his anger, _that_ certainly did. "That's an order, do you understand? Go to your room and _don't come out._"

Sanura's eyes went unfocused a moment, her jaw hanging open just enough that I heard her sharp intake of breath. She looked frozen, and then her face went blank and she nodded again, stiffly and turned on her heel. She was gone in my next blink, forced away by her _Sire's_ power over her. Daniel let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his dark bronze hair, and his black eyes snapped to me. My stomach dipped to the floor like I'd gone over the first hill of a rollercoaster and I unintentionally stepped back. He jumped at the sign of weakness, lunging toward me faster than I could anticipate. I screamed, but by the time I'd opened my mouth, he already had his fist tangled in my hair and was dragging me toward the door.

"Isaac!" I screamed reaching for the vampire who looked like he was trying to rip off his own arms to get to me. Every breath brought us further apart however and once he'd tossed me out of the cell, Daniel kicked the door shut behind him with a resounding slam. I drew into myself against the wall, wanting to be as small as possible, willing my body to evaporate like Cern's clothes. It was obvious by now that he wasn't coming to save me. Either the god had cut his losses or that bitch Lidia had given them the real deal with this barrier. Sanura was being mind-fucked into submission and Isaac probably couldn't have helped me even if he _was_ free with all his injuries. I was alone, and this was not something I was used to. Alone was dangerous, alone meant I had to protect myself, but how could I? What could I possibly do that would protect me?

_You could die, _a tiny voice at the back of my head whispered. I wasn't as disturbed by that as the moment or so after when I actually considered it.

"You know you're in trouble, don't you?" I pulled myself from my heavy thoughts to look at him through my wild, dark hair. The vampire stood against the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest, face devoid of his usual mocking humor. I drew a shaky breath and nodded slowly.

"Tell me then Mira, what should I do to you?"

"Nothing," my voice was soft and reedy, verging on a sob, but I was fighting back my tears. I'd cried too much today. He didn't deserve anymore of my tears.

"Nothing?" he mused. "I'm afraid that's too lax for this offense."

I groaned, furious with his bullshit and tired of his games. "I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't even try to run away! I just needed to see him."

Daniel smiled then, and it was the nasty, malicious smile he so often wore before he hurt me. "You _needed_ him? Aren't you precious?" He shot forward suddenly, grabbing my arm and dragging me down the hall. His pace was almost too fast for me to keep up, I stumbled and fell into him many times, but he'd only jerk me back to my feet and push on. We came to the end of the hall and I sucked down a breath dreading what would come once we reached my room, but suddenly we were going left. I didn't recognize this hallway, and could only stumble after him, the panic in my gut building steadily. After a few minutes of walking, Daniel led us into a dining room, and grabbing both my arms he shoved me into it and shut the door behind him.

I looked around a moment, holding myself while he moved to the long mahogany table. It was fully set, a plate and utensils decoratively placed at each chair, as if at any moment they expected a dinner party. Did Colette even use this room? And why the hell would he take me in here in the first place? I jumped when Daniel snapped his fingers, pointing at the chair beside him.

"Sit."

I didn't bother with pride or obstinance now, not while his eyes were obsidian pits and locked so tightly on me. I did just as he instructed and moved to the carved wooden dining chair, letting him pull it out for me and keeping my eyes on his black dress shoes.

"Good girl," he said softly, brushing his hand across the top of my head as he moved behind me. Scowling I turned to follow, but he grabbed my shoulders and forced me straight in the chair again. "Sit _still_."

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking," he replied. Cool fingers slid over my shoulders, tightening until I made a soft sound of discomfort. "Deciding whether or not to punish you the way I intended to earlier," he brushed his lips against my temple, "before we were interrupted."

I sucked in a breath of fear at the threat and shot out of the chair. Daniel easily forced me back down though and I began to shake my head, trying to turn back to look at him, but he wouldn't let me.

"No, Daniel. Don't do that, _please_." I turned again and he chuckled, reaching around me to clasp my chin and face me forward.

"Begging only makes me want to do it more, darling." He grinned, breathing in the scent from my hair. "You have the sweetest little voice when you're frightened. You aren't like Sanura, so convinced that death is the most pain one can endure. She's so boring now. She taunts me, but _you_, well you're too afraid of me to do much of anything. It's flattering really. Though I have to wonder what my boy sees in you. Does he enjoy having a spineless child scampering around underfoot? From what I hear, you cause nothing but problems. I can't imagine he wants you for anything but what's between your legs."

Anger bubbled up in my chest and I kicked back my head, catching Daniel in the chin hard enough to make his teeth snap together loudly. He stumbled back a step with a soft curse as I launched myself from my chair and grabbed the first thing I could. The porcelain plate was heavier than I expected, but the extra weight made for a satisfying crash when I broke it across Daniel's face. The one beneath it shattered against his right shoulder, the last and largest plate snapped in half against his jaw and shattered when it hit the ground. I spun to grab for more, but suddenly the world was moving around me in a blur of color and my stomach rose up in my throat. I yelped as I was slammed down into my chair, rocking back on two legs until Daniel grabbed the back and pulled it down again.

"I told you to _sit still_," he hissed and something glimmered silver to my right. Fire burst to life in my hand and it wasn't until I stared down at it in shock that I understood why. One of the decorative silver knives from my place setting was jutting out of the back of my hand, stuck firmly into the wood and nailing my hand to the chair's arm. I sucked in a breath to scream, and it was rushed out by the second knife that stabbed down through my left hand and into the arm of my chair. I shrieked like a woman on fire, deep, gut wrenching screams that filled the room and echoed back around as if mocking me. I thrashed in the chair for a while, screaming when the struggle only tore at my impaled hands. Daniel was busy in the chair in front of me, pulling tiny bits of porcelain from his face. Each puncture was open long enough to release a tiny drip of blood before the wounds closed, but he didn't seem to care that I hadn't done permanent damage. His eyes were still black and he was watching me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Take them out!" I cried frantically, "Take them out now! Daniel you have to-" He slapped me to shut me up, and it worked superbly. My head snapped to the side, my voice cut off by shock, and I blinked a few times, dazed.

"You actually surprised me there," he said and he _sounded_ surprised. His expression melted from its frightening blankness into…was that admiration? He wasn't just surprised by my lashing out. He was pleased by it. _Excited_.

"You have a little fight after all," he grinned leaning forward in his chair and grabbing the arms of mine. He dragged me in front of his seat and I grit my teeth as the jerking of the wood disturbed the blades in my hands. "I _like_ that, Mira. And here I thought you'd just roll over and play pathetic until the ceremony. Maybe you're not worthless after all."

I jerked back in my seat when he leaned closer. "Come on, do it again. Show me your _Grr_ face."

"Fuck off," I spat, then yelped when he smacked me again, the crack of flesh on flesh reverberating in the dining room.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Don't be boring, Mira. You know what I meant."

"No," I shouted back, spitting blood at his shoes. He arched a brow but didn't seem bothered. "I'm not going to do this with you, do you understand? If you're going to kill me, you may as well get it over with because I'm not going to make it fun for you, you sick piece of shit. I will put every last bit of my strength into being a lifeless, silent ragdoll for you. You won't get anything else from me."

Daniel leaned back in his chair, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes, his smile turned dangerous. "Challenge accepted."

I saw him launching toward me and I couldn't help myself, I screamed, turning my head away and instinctively lifted everything I had to attack with. My hands lit up with agony, the shock tearing up my arms, but my feet connected with his stomach. The vampire grunted, but didn't go anywhere; he simply grabbed my knees and wrenched them open to step between them.

"There you go!" he grinned, "Fight back, kitten, it's more fun that way." I grit my teeth, growling as I tried to knee him, but he trapped my legs against my body by leaning into me. His voice dropped an octave and became softly mocking. "_Now_ what are you going to do?"

I was naked and he was pressing himself against me again. My stomach rolled, my head turning down and away from the sight of him. Tiny comfort, not nearly enough to matter. Not seeing him didn't mean I couldn't feel him touching me. He was in dark, expensive jeans today and the fabric was rough against my skin, too rough to ignore, and he was moving now, rubbing against me. The disgusting fuck was dry humping me!

I let out an animal cry, but this one wasn't of fear or defeat, it was of rage. I rocked my head forward and landed skull crack number two, right into his nose. The flesh gave beneath my head and I heard the crunch of cartilage breaking. Blood spilled down his face and he jerked back, unfortunately his other hand shot out to tighten like a vice around my neck. I gagged, choking, eyes bulging, and he spat blood onto the floor.

"_Bitch_!" I was afraid until he started laughing, cracking his nose back into place and working it gingerly. "I have to stop doing that. You have a hard head, we could put you in a circus."

I garbled out my response, but it was little more than choking and wheezes, so Daniel pulled me closer, straining my hands against the blades to make me whimper. "What was that?" he asked, loosening his hold on my throat.

"_Don't put your hands in the cage_," I rasped.

"Cute." He said, then with a heavy sigh he released me and sat back in his own chair. "Fine Mira, I'll play nice. It's just such an easy rise to get from you, it's hard to resist. You _are_ practically naked, and despite what you might think of me, I am a man." He gave a wry smile. "Even I have sex."

"I know you do," I hissed back. "With unwilling, prepubescent girls, so you can get off on their crying."

"Are you trying to offend me?"

"I wouldn't know _how_ to offend you Daniel."

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "Next question, why do you think I want to kill you? I have no use for your corpse, before you make a crack about necrophilia too."

I shivered at the thought, feeling almost dirty beneath his heavy gaze. "You only seem to want to hurt me, I thought you said death was painful."

"It is, but a torment unique to all others, one I could not enjoy with you, reserved for those who are damned," he smiled. "And you _are_ damned, darling. You sold your soul to a green eyed devil." At this he chuckled wistfully and stretched out in his chair, his leg brushing mine. I flinched at the contact, but he ignored it.

"Lidia speaks to me of the ancient creature with forests of acid in his eyes." He glanced down at me, "She has a certain playful way with words, doesn't she." I felt myself tensing when his gaze became harder, his cold eyes floating over my face before locking with mine. "_You_ have beautiful eyes, Mira. Have I told you that? Blue in certain lights, but they are really the most wonderful grey."He leaned forward suddenly and his thumb stroked across my cheek.

"You have such _sad_ eyes. I can see you, Mira, poor little lost girl, so bitter over your losses." He smiled thoughtfully and tilted up my chin to inspect them further. "I think I shall _take_ them when Colette is done with you."

"_What_?"

"Actually, I don't think you'll need to see much of anything for the ceremony. Perhaps Colette won't miss them." His grip on my chin tightened and his smile grew. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him grab the soup spoon resting with the remainder of my place setting. He inspected it a moment then clicked his tongue, tapping it on the table.

"Sit still, this won't take long."

"What? Fuck no I-" He smacked me with the heavy spoon and frowned.

"Mira, if you aren't still I could do unnecessary damage. The shock might even kill you."

"_Get away from me!_"

"**ENOUGH**."

The bellow silenced us both and froze Daniel in his place above me, spoon positioned to rip into my orbital cavity like he was balling a mellow. We both turned to the dining room door where a small, thin young girl stood in a suit that was far too serious for her apparent age. Her wispy, blond hair was braided down her back and she wore dark eyeliner today to make her cornflower blue eyes blaze from her soft, pale face. She should have been beautiful and innocent, but the expression she wore spoke only of danger and fury.

"Lottie, darling!" Daniel smiled pulling away from me and tossing the spoon back on the table. I sucked in a deep relieved breath and felt my body go limp in the chair. Thank you, bitch queen.

"What is going on in here Daniel? I can hear this thing wailing clear across the manor. You were _supposed_ to be assisting with the preparations and instead you sneak off like a schoolboy skipping lessons to play with _my_ link."

"Oh, Lottie," Daniel sighed, plopping back down into his chair so he could tease me with prods and pinches that I couldn't escape from. "Don't get your panties in a twist. We're just playing, aren't we kitten?"

Colette glared at him a long moment, but didn't react to his insulting tone more than that. Instead she moved to the chair at the head of the table. Moments later, without needing to be called, a shadow hurried through the door and placed a glass of wine in front of her, kneeling down beside her chair like a dog. She reached out absently to stroke his hair then leaned back in her chair to observe us.

"Didn't you call the other one kitten? I get confused, you've had so many pets."

"Sanura was a waste, just like I knew she was before Isaac took such a shine to her. She disappointed me, but he just _had_ to keep her around." He smiled at me running his fingers up my thigh to make me squirm. "This is my _new_ kitten. Soft, innocent, defenseless, just a tiny little spark that gives her the drive to be entertaining," he laughed sitting back finally and leaving me alone. "I think I might even be attracted to her."

Colette arched a thinly sculpted brow and I dropped my jaw in horror and disgust. "That's new for you. Don't tell me you're going to start crying for her release like Isaac. I don't have time to deal with another drawn into whatever it is she has. She's a siren in a pretty dress…no dress. Why isn't she wearing clothes?"

"Jesus Lottie, I'm not going to steal her away from you before you can do your little ritual. She isn't _that _enthralling. I'm not even sure I'll claim her after." He gave me a wink and smiled at the queen he could somehow mistreat without repercussion. "I don't suppose you want her?"

"I-"

"That was rhetorical," he interrupted, ignoring her darkening eyes. "You don't get the power _and_ the plaything, Lottie, I will take her if it comes down to that."

"If it comes down to it, you will _try_."

Daniel laughed, looking to me and motioning to Colette. "Isn't it cute? She thinks that she intimidates me, but_ I_ think we both know the truth."

"Daniel, I am your _**Queen**_." Colette finally snapped, slamming a fist down onto the shadow beside her. He howled in pain, crumpling to the floor, but both vampires were ignoring him. "Regardless of how you feel for me, you will show me the proper respect. There is an authority even _you_ must follow."

He rolled his eyes and lifted a hand to his head in a half-assed salute. "Oh great and powerful majesty, please forgive me. I tremble at the thought of what you might do to me should I displease you."

Colette exhaled sharply through her nose and closed her eyes a moment. She snapped them open again and they were clear and blue, but tired. "Just go, Daniel. I am not in the mood for this."

"Was it the powerful part? I thought that bit was a little overdone, myself."

"_Get._ _Out._"

He grinned and jumped to his feet, leaning over to grab both my wrists and began to pull. I tense, letting out a startled cry when I realized he intended to rip my hands off the chair.

"**No**." Colette's voice was hard and final. "You will leave her here. You can play with your other toy now. She's getting on my nerves. She calls me the _invertebrate_ queen."

He paused a moment, starring at her, and shifted as if to pull anyway, but after a moment of silence and the heavy stares between them, he stood straight and grit his teeth.

"I'm sure Lidia misses me already, needy little thing." He said softly. "I'll just go see how she's doing, shall I?"

Colette gave him a tight smile and watched him storm from the room.

"Why are you wearing only Isaac's shirt?" It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me and I couldn't form a sentence. The queen stared at me intently, unwavering as I stammered. "_Answer me_."

"This is what I came in," I squeaked. "Daniel hasn't given me anything else."

"Of course he hasn't," she sighed. "_Men_. What about this mess?"

"What mess?" I asked tentatively and regretted it when she sneered, throwing her hand toward the shattered plates and blood on her carpet. "I…I broke them on Daniel."

There was a long moment of silence and then to my astonishment, the queen smiled, leaning back in her chair to look me over. "Did you now?"

I jumped when she stood, but managed to keep my yelling in check as she traced around the table to stand in front of me. This was my first time to be under the full scrutiny of the vampire queen, and I had no idea how Daniel did it. With those piercing eyes of hers, and the look on her face, an expression that made her seem far older than her body, her age was in her eyes. She was intimidating to say the least. Her tiny hands shot out, wrapping around the handles of the knives, but before I could tell her to stop she'd ripped them out and tossed them on the table. I grit my teeth to stay quiet and cradled my hands to my chest.

"Are you hungry?" she was already moving back to her chair and sitting down. The shadow on the floor was pushing himself up again now and she murmured a quick command to him. Moving at a labored pace, he hurried from the room to comply. I wasn't given the chance to reply before he'd returned with a rolling cart. The cart was topped with covered dishes and glasses. He quickly brushed away the remaining bits of porcelain from the table and set one in front of me, taking the cover away with an unnecessary flourish. I might have even commented on this if the scent of meat hadn't drifted up to me and reminded me that I hadn't eaten in what could very well be days. My mouth began to water instantly as I watched the shadow pour me a glass of wine and one of iced water. He replaced my silverware last and Colette cleared her throat, motioning that I should eat. I grabbed at one of the forks, struggling to hold it with my ruined hand, and stabbed the plate but there was a slam on the table when Colette smacked her palm down on it.

"Were you born in a barn? Where are your manners, girl? _That_ is the salad fork."

I jumped at her tone but nodded quickly, looking down at all the stupid cutlery in front of me. What the hell was the point of them all? Which one was the _right_ one? The shadow nudged me gently, keeping his eyes down on the carpet. He tapped the edge of the table beneath one of the center forks. Tentatively I lifted it and Colette sat back in her chair, snapping her fingers. The shadow hurried to serve her, while I tore into the plate of steak and potatoes and some strange sweet salad I didn't recognize, but couldn't have found more delicious.

The queen said nothing while I ate. Instead she watched me, sipping at a glass of wine and smiling to herself. When I had finished the plate, and that wasn't long at all, she cleared her throat and the shadow hurried to dispose of it.

"I did not put you under Daniel's control to torture you." The queen's voice was soft, but strong, which seemed to be the basis of her being. A cherub mask, filled with frigid iron. Her cornflower blue eyes snapped up to me as she sat back in her chair, swirling the wine in her glass absently. "Isaac's distraction was not terribly surprising. He is a passionate boy, he follows his instincts, even to his end it seems, and with your little…_ability_," she spoke the word distastefully, "he has become blinded. I have accepted that he is lost to me, and from that I can move on. I have spent too many years on Isaac."

"Ok." I said softly, not knowing how else to respond.

"Daniel, however is an entirely different case. He is my enforcer, my strength. Six hundred years of loyal and unfaltering service, and it ends with you."

I swallowed, deciding to stear the conversation away from things that might put me in danger. "Daniel is 600 years old?"

Colette laughed, shaking her head. "No child, he has been under the rule of our authority for that time. It was centuries before we had convinced him to join us. Daniel has never been one for community, but without it he has survived. An anomaly if ever there was one."

"How do I distract him?" I asked finally with a heavy sigh. "I've done nothing."

"On the contrary, you've taken the full attention of his favorite toy, and by extension the love of Sanura, his pretty little pet."

"Why the hell does that matter? I'm human, I will die and be forgotten and he will have eternity to chase them down."

Colette smiled, tilting her head to regard me with an expression I couldn't read. "Very true, but while you live you…irritate him."

"And here I thought he liked me."

"You thought that he showed his affection through mutilation?" she shook her head. "It is not just Isaac and the other one. You're ability itself infuriates him. There are no practical uses to you, no way in which we can utilize your gift. You simply exist as temptation. You are the _apple_ in the garden of Eden. Pandora's cursed box. At least, that is what _I_ believed."

"And now?"

She shrugged. "You are an interesting human, but I do not see any reason to keep you. What would that gain me besides the dependence on your blood? Daniel is convinced that you are simply uncooked. He believes that if given the right enhancements, you could become a great asset. I think he is just pissed that he can't get into your head."

"Isaac's tried, it doesn't work."

"Daniel's ability far outreaches Isaac's. It is his gift, his power. All vampires are gifted with the inherent ability to affect the thoughts of those lesser than them. We can influence them, push them, but Daniel surpasses petty mind tricks. He can mold the thoughts, create them, and his ability is not restricted to human kind. Did you think he disregards my authority through sheer pride? Why did you think that he was given a position so high in our ranks without the years it would take to earn it? He is _feared_ as a great power, Mira, and over the years, he has found strength that we cannot explain." She grinned.

"And then came _you_. A simple girl, spineless and weak, who stumbled into everything she's been given. Daniel saw you as a waste of his time, he only agreed to deal with you if I gave him the psychic. He saw you as a bug, and then he tried to slip into your head and could not even open the door." Colette laughed to herself, finishing her wine. "Do you know what that did to him? Daniel is known and feared for his talent, he can intimidate even those who came centuries before him and then a stupid human girl falls into his lap and his ability becomes useless. He hurts you now because it is the only thing he can do to you and that infuriates him. I will admit, seeing him cowed is something I have waited for."

"Is that why you're being so nice to me?"

The queen smiled again. "One of the reasons, yes."

"And the other?"

"In your time with Daniel, has he told you why you are here?"

"No, but," I cleared my throat to make my voice stronger. "I've heard rumors. Lidia told you about Cern, and-"

"Cern?" Colette laughed. "You have given a pet name to a_ god_?"

"I…I guess."

She shook her head. "I don't know why it surprises me. You're reputation is just as perplexing."

"I've heard that one."

Colette nodded and snapped her fingers. The shadow from before burst into the room to refill her wine glass and was gone just as quickly.

"You are here, because you can provide me power. Your connection to the god, through you're shared blood is a link that can allow me the upper hand, if you will."

"Why do you need power? You're already a queen."

She smiled to herself, starring into her wine glass like it was a crystal ball. "That might have been enough before, but the world is changing, Mira. Amhlaoibh's death has created unrest. The balance of our power is shifting and I fear that without change I will lose what I have worked so hard to gain. My enforcers do not respect me, my own subjects think that I am nothing. I will not wait for my kin to tear me from my throne, I will be ready for them. I will secure my position and ensure that it is never questioned again. Perhaps I might even make a few changes with my new power."

"How?"

Her eyes shot to me and narrowed a moment, but she responded all the same. Perhaps she didn't think I would live long enough to betray her confidence.

"The seeing girl has told us many things. Secrets that Amhlaoibh and his progeny had selfishly kept to themselves. Old magic is the only thing that will effect a god."

At this I couldn't help my smile. "Old magic?" I laughed. "This might be more complicated than you think then, your majesty. I am not affected by old magic."

Colette didn't falter, she simply smiled. "Cernnunos _is_. The barrier around my manor was a test. Even now he tries to breach the walls but cannot step inside. The truth is, that you do not need to be effected by the ritual. Through your shared blood, we will draw him here, cage him, and I will have my power."

"It won't work." I insisted, but Colette ignored me.

"I have enjoyed our talk, Mira, but there are still preparations to be made. You may go back to your room now. I would suggest taking this time to rest, while you are still able." She grinned, snapping her fingers to call the shadow back in to be my guide. "Before Daniel has _free_ time again."

The shadow grabbed my arm then and lifted me from the chair, leading me to the door. I wanted to say something, anything, just to have the last word, but my mind was blank. I had nothing.

Nothing but fear.

* * *

**Well, this was a bit of a bitch to finish. First the notebook and then deciding what I wanted told and what to keep for later, UGH! Anywho, it took for friggin ever, but it's finally up, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Let me know what you all think! **

**SIDENOTE - this is just a random bit that got worked out of the conversation because it really had no place there, so I'm just gunna put it here for shits and giggles. Don't really have any significance, but it made me giggle.**

"Do you watch TV Mira? Of course you do, just like every other person in your generation. Television was neat for about a decade and then it just became another excuse to stay inside and waste your life away. Don't even get me started on the internet." Daniel shook his head with a sneer. "TV fostered this uprising of pathetic, what is it, _nerds_? Grown men who purposefully live in their parent's basements and fantasize about over sexualized cartoon characters rather than going out and finding a real woman."

"I see you feel strongly about this." I said, spitting blood on the floor. Daniel's eyes snapped back into focus and cut to me, narrowing at my mockery.

"Well they disgust me, Mira. These fully grown men and women are living in fantasy, oblivious of the life around them. It is wasteful, ungrateful. They are given so much, so many opportunities, and they squander them for space captains and green princesses."

"I'm sorry that Star Trek was so popular. I wasn't around then."

"Well, it's a good thing too." Daniel smiled, patting my shoulder and squeezing the ravaged bite mark he'd just given me. I winced, clenching my teeth together and tried my damndest not to make a sound. "I once ate an entire conference room full of _Trekkies_," he sneered the word, squeezing me harder, making my jaw cramp from the pressure I was putting it under. I thought of Isaac, knowing he would want me to deny Daniel the satisfaction of my screams. I had to try, but part of me feared that making the vampire angry would only result in worse treatment.

"They make me uncomfortable. I await the outgrowing of this particular fad. Perhaps the fall of television entirely."

"Television is the shit." I said defensively, trying to rile him, maybe get his fingers out of the muscles in my shoulder. That would be a _great_ start. "Thank you very much. Cinema in general is an art form. Granted one that's been a little watered down over the years, but we still get the occasional gem."

Daniel raked me with a disapproving scowl and stepped back, releasing my shoulder and I sighed in relief, hoping it hadn't been loud enough to tip him off. He didn't seem to notice.

"I had hope for you Mira," he said, "Perhaps too much."

"Oh please, Mr. Melodrama. IT's just TV. Some people abuse it just like everything else. Get over it. You have better things to do." I paused, titling my head. "Well…horrible things, for you."


End file.
